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The 
blossom Circle of the Year 

In Southern (gardens 



By 

Julia Lester Dillon 



"Jnd the Spring arose on the garden fair. 
Like the spirit of Love felt everywhere; 
And each flower and herb on earth's dark breast 
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest." 

— Shelley. 



New York, N.Y. 

A. T. De La Mare Company, Inc. 

1922 



Copyright, 1922, by 
A. T. De La Mare Company, Inc. 



g)7.A674l06 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface 11 

I. The Hopes and Joys of Garden Making 13 

II. Broad-Leaved Evergreens — For Every Garden 19 

III. Ornamental Hedge Plants — For Every Gardener 35 

IV. Azaleas and Camellias — For All Who Love Them 47 

V. Coniferous Evergreens — For Beauty and Accent 57 

VI. Old-Fashioned Roses- — How to Grow Them 67 

VIL Making a Rose Garden — To Live In and Love 75 

VIII. March Activities — The Beginning of the Summer 

Garden 85 

IX. April Leaves From My Garden Book 93 

X. May Work— For Fall Glory 101 

XL Taking Stock of the Garden — Under June's Sunny 

Skies 109 

XIL July Planning — For Permanent Effects 115 

XIIL Fighting the Midsummer Pests 123 

XIV. Dependable Perennials — When to Plant Them 133 

XV. October Glories — And October Work 141 

XVI. Sweet Peas — For Spring Blossoming 147 

XVII. Satisfactory Deciduous Shrubs — For All the Year 151 

XVIII. Vines — ^For Cottage and for Mansion 159 

XIX. The Making and Care of Southern Lawns 171 

XX. Flowering Trees For All Seasons 179 

XXI. Conclusion — Devoutly Hoped For 191 

Index 197 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

{See page 196 for index of garden owners or sites) 

A garden of the New South where every prospect pleases Frontispiece 

Page 

An old-fashioned garden 15 

Something different that only the South can enjoy 16 

The orange berries of the evergreen Hawthorn 19 

Hardy, beautiful and useful are the Holly-leaved Barberry and the English 

Laurel 21 

Japanese Holly, known to botanists as Ilex crenata 22 

Abelia grandiflora is one of the best foundation plantings 25 

Evergreen Hawthorn and Heavenly Bamboo, always distinctive, are 

especially pleasing in their Winter dress of berries 26 

Kalmia latifolia, the Mountain Laurel 28 

English Laurel in all its beauty and usefulness 29 

The starry Oleander blossom 30 

Euphorbia, curious but attractive, too 31 

A splendid Live Oak 32 

Clipped standards of Wild Olive give distinction to this Ligustrum amu- 

rense hedge 35 

A double hedge for both privacy and appearance 37 

A hedge beneath a row of trees 38 

Tree Boxwood as it grows in Maryland 39 

For a dense hedge keep the bottom wider than the top 41 

Old subjects and new in an old-time garden 42 

Juniperus virginiana behind Ligustrum amurense makes a soft but very 

effective screen 43 

A useful hedge planting 44 

Boxwood edging just six years old 44 

A "close up" side-view of a well-formed hedge 45 

Twin Cypresses accent this garden entrance 46 

True harmony of both color and form 49 

Azalea Kaempferi, a valuable Japanese accession 50 

The deciduous, flame-colored Azalea, A. calendulacea 52 

Camellias — rare jewels of southern gardening 54 

Effective use of conifers on a formal terrace 56 

A happy grouping of Cypresses and Pines 56 

The exquisite softness of Japanese Cypresses 59 

A California setting in a Georgia suburb 60 

Chama-cyparis pisifera plumosa 63 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 9 

r ■ . . . P^S^ 

Jumpers and Retinisporas are good standbys in all coniferous groups 64 

Climbing Roses and clinging vines 66 

Frau Karl Druschki, the handsomest of all white Roses 67 

Caroline Testout Roses in the author's garden 68 

Radiance, a silvery-pink hybrid tea 69 

Grass walks and narrow beds help any Rose garden 71 

Roses are not uncommon in the South, but there should be more of them. 72 

Lady Banksia Roses are at home only in the warmer sections 76 

The popular Polyantha or Baby Rambler type 77 

A real Rose garden, as beautiful as it is rare 78 

A rough stone wall and deeply recessed stairway draped with Silver Moon 

Roses 82 

White Cherokees on brick walls 83 

When Spring comes to "Winterholme" 84 

White blossoms of flowering Peach trees 87 

The golden-yellow blooms of Jasminum nudiflorum 88 

The wild Rosa setigera, unlike the Cherokee, has deciduous foliage 90 

African Daisies of French gray with deep blue centers 91 

A velvety green carpet and formal beds edged with box 92 

Iris in the garden border 97 

When the Shirley Poppies bloom 98 

Pansies and Spanish Iris 100 

Yucca filamentosa is wonderful in May 103 

A beautified kitchen entrance and service path 104 

Petunias and Larkspur made this garden gay for weeks and weeks 107 

Daisies are beautiful whether wild or tame 108 

June opens the tresses of the perennial Phlox 110 

A most effective Summer flowering hedge is Hydrangea paniculata grandi- 
flora Ill 

Hydrangea eflfectively used in another way 112 

Good foundation plantings — while they last 115 

Boxwood for accent, turf for edging and perennials for color 116 

The wild Cactus (Opuntia) of meadows and woodlots 119 

Too much planting for so little space 120 

Neriums (Oleanders) should be in bloom in July 121 

Bamboo fittingly used in a Georgia garden 124 

Midsummer in the author's garden 127 

Railroad stations are essential, why not make them attractive ? 129 

One of the showiest perennials for massing 132 

The beautifying effect of growing plants 135 

Cannas used to good effect in California 136 

Peony growing for eastern flower markets 139 

Chrysanthemums — reigning flowers of the Fail 142 

The charm of horticultural simplicity 143 



10 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Page 

A bird's-eye view of Sweet Peas as grown at Bryan, Texas 146 

Prolonging the garden season 148 

The charm of Sweet Peas in the home 149 

Jasminum nudiflorum, earliest of Spring flowers 153 

Deutzia gracilis makes its debut later than the Spiraeas 154 

All the Viburnums are showy, hardy, and satisfactory shrubs 157 

A living mirror to multiply the garden's charms 158 

Rosa de Montana or Coral Vine 159 

Rose vines are never more charming than on a pergola terrace 160 

Young vines on an old house — but you'd never know it 161 

Graceful garlands of Virginia Creeper 162 

Ivy is a most appropriate drapery for a sundial 164 

Star Jasmine and Cherokee Roses 165 

Ampelopsis Veitchii, the familiar Boston Ivy " 166 

Charming screens of white Wistaria and Clematis paniculata 169 

Euonymus radicans effective in an unusual role 170 

A perfect sod of Italian Rye Grass 173 

Bermuda Grass makes the only satisfactory southern Summer lawns 174 

Yet many claim that a lawn cannot be made under trees! 175 

Shady lawns in a southern park 176 

A pleasant expanse of lawn well placed 178 

Syringa japonica in all its Spring loveliness 181 

What Dogwood can do to a hillside 182 

Good effects close by and far away 185 

Magnolia blossoms produce an effect that is almost unbelievable 186 

Eriobotrya japonica, the Japanese Medlar, at Brooksville, Fla 188 

The historic Cornwallis Oak 190 

A real southern homestead in a worthy setting 193 

Have you a view like this ? 194 




PREFACE 

^ I ^HE women of all the South are now thoroughly awakened 
to their responsibility and opportunity, not only in the 
matter of conservation, but also in that of education and of the 
development of the garden and landscape work of both the cities 
and the rural districts. These women are planting their school 
grounds and courthouse squares, municipal parks, and railroad 
stations; they are organizing garden clubs; they are working for 
a development, along artistic lines, of the new highways that con- 
nect the states, and they are endeavoring to develop the farms 
until they become estates worthy of this or any other section. 

The wonderful and varied flora of the Southern States offers 
but one problem for garden makers — that of choice. There is 
absolutely no limit to the list of offerings that will grow and thrive 
all over this prolific land. 

In this little volume, which I am offering the women who have 
undertaken this noble and necessary work, I have grouped the 
plant subjects so that they may not only follow the circle of the 
blossoms around the year, but may also follow the circle of garden 
activities. From the time of the first planting in November, 
through the long list of permanent trees, shrubs, conifers, Roses, 
perennials, evergreens and seeds; through the making of the Sum- 
mer garden; the fighting of the pests; the enjoyment of the Octo- 
ber glories, until we reach the conclusion devoutly to be hoped 
for — when every southern home will be set in a garden and every 
southern farm will be framed in green lawns and well-chosen 
shrubbery — the book stands for the practical and helpful side of 
garden work. 



12 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

It also stands for something higher, which is the esthetic side 
of landscape work. The color harmonies have been carefully 
studied. The landscape problems have been tested and tried, 
and the illustrations offered are to show the best and most beauti- 
ful planting effects. 

Acknowledgment is made herewith to House and Garden and 
to The Florists' Exchange for permission to use copyright matter; 
and to Mr. Paul C. Lindley, Mr. Francis A. Hardy, Mr. Peter 
Bisset and many others for help in securing the illustrations. 
Also for the assistance rendered the author in the editorial 
supervision by Mr. E. L. D. Seymour. 

That all my fellow workers will find here the help they need 
is the earnest wish of 

Julia Lester Dillon. 
Augusta, Georgia. 



Amid 7ny garden s broiderd paths I trod^ 

And there my mind soon caught her favorite clue, 
I seem'd to stand amid the church of God, 

And flowers were preachers, and {still stranger) drew 
From their own life and course 
The love they would enforce. 
And sound their doctrine was, and every precept true." 

— EVANS. 



THE HOPES AND JOYS OF GARDEN MAKING 13 



CHAPTER I 



THE HOPES AND JOYS OF GARDEN MAKING 

MY memory cannot reach to the time when I was not inter- 
ested in gardens and garden making, and for this reason 
these stray leaves from many gardens have been gathered from 
year to year, and from many sections, and are presented here in 
the hope that they may be an incentive to those who love growing 
things either to gather in some new garden children and make 
them so much at home that they will become not like adopted 
little ones, but like one's very own, or to find out something new 
about the habits of those they have grown up with and always 
known. 

There are leaves in the garden book of memory that were 
gathered in the sunshine of old Concord; there are others that 
are woven into a Laurel wreath from the roads that wind among 
those Fern-crowned hills that rise above the Hudson and are lost 
in the misty distance of the Catskills; there are Palm branches 
from New Orleans, and clusters of Azaleas from Charleston; 
there are scarlet Trumpet Vine blossoms that cling to tall trees 
along the bayous of Louisiana, and white Roses from the door- 
yards of the Tennessee mountaineers, and everywhere there has 
been beauty and sweetness and light, the gathering of them has 
been a joy, the remembrance of them is an inspiration. 

In all my journeyings and observations it has seemed to me 
that the different parallels of latitude simply meant different dates 
for plantings. Short seasons of bloom, long seasons of rest in the 
cooler belts; long seasons of bloom, short seasons of rest in the 
warmer zones. 



14 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Inquiries have come to me concerning gardens from all sections 
of the South, from Virginia to Florida, and from Georgia to Texas. 
These bear out my own experience that all the books, planting 
lists, garden calendars and helps, are planned for those who make 
gardens north of Mason and Dixon's Line. For this reason, the 
following chapters are sent out in book form, in order that they 
may make a convenient and handy guide for those who wish to 
develop their home grounds in the South and have not had suffi- 
cient experience to know how to go about it. 

This work is not intended to be, nor could I make it, a com- 
prehensive guide to the flora of the South, but the information it 
contains has been gained by constant study and practical expe- 
rience covering a period of years, not only in my own garden, but 
in those of my neighbors, and in it will be found material that has 
helped to solve garden problems for all parts of the Southern 
States. 

Any garden guide will give proper directions as to how to plant 
the seeds of most of the annuals and perennials that we use; any 
good gardener knows how to prepare the soil and set out shrubs, 
and Roses, and trees, but, with us, it is not so much the how as 
the when that counts, and the lists of annuals, perennials, shrubs, 
and vines that are given are those that have stood the test not only 
of time, but also of sunlight and shade in this land of long, hot 
Summer and short, cold Winters. 

What has been written, while intended to meet southern con- 
ditions not usually touched upon, will also apply to a much wider 
field. Early plantings in the South, later ones in the cooler sec- 
tions, is the invariable rule. But, because it is also the usual rule 
to give the other sections precedence I have reversed the procedure 
and given the dates of the earlier plantings first. The color 
schemes, the perennial groupings, the shrubbery borders, and, 
in fact, all the plantings except those of most of the broad-leaved 
evergreens and a few of the more tender and exotic plants, may 
be used equally well in sections of the East and West and North. 
The limits of hardiness are carefully noted throughout. 

It seems hard that all gardeners of the South must learn by 
sad experience that if a writer tells of the glories of the Delphinium 



THE HOPES AND JOYS OF GARDEN MAKING 



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THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




THE HOPES AND JOYS OF GARDEN MAKING 17 

cashmerianum and kindred plants in her gardens on the banks of 
the Hudson, it does not necessarily mean that the same plantings 
will give beauty on the banks of the Savannah or the Chatta- 
hoochee or the Cumberland. With her, they are glorious in June 
after Fall planting; with us, they lift their faces skyward in March 
after having been planted the previous Spring. Climatic condi- 
tions, therefore, are so different that radical procedures are neces- 
sary for successful growth of the blossoms of the cooler belts, and 
the only way to find this out has been by trial and failure, and 
trial followed by success. A wonderful part of this gardening 
business is that when one planting is crowned with glory the 
dozen unsuccessful ones are immediately forgotten — truly, defeat 
is swallowed up in victory. 

While it is possible for me to forget the failures in the joy of 
achievement, my garden records have noted them unerringly, 
with the reasons therefor, and because of this the story of my 
successful efforts can be depended upon. These chapters contain 
the records of success. The failures are omitted. There are 
many plantings that I could write about that I have left out 
because they were outside my personal experience. These that 
are given may be relied upon. 

The richness of the vegetation of this territory makes it not 
only a privilege but a duty to have beautiful gardens all the year. 
Whereas the northern sections are limited for their Winter shrub- 
beries to the coniferous evergreens, which oftentimes must be 
carefully protected from sleet and snowstorms, in our portion of 
the land there are wonderful broad-leaved evergreens that furnish 
blossom and fragrance from month to month and that frame 
green lawns in January and February quite as beautifully as in 
July and August. From the lists of these shrubs, evergreens and 
vines here given, every gardener, whether his area be limited to 
a ten-foot lot or is of wide extent, should be able to find material 
that will help him to make a garden that will be a permanent joy 
and become more and more beautiful from year to year. 

The information that is here offered to garden lovers, and to 
those who are ambitious to make their homes attractive by the 
use of growing plants and shrubs, is intended primarily as a guide 



18 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

that will enable them to know what to plant and when to plant. 
It Is sent out with the hope that it may prove as much of an 
inspiration to read it as it has been a joy to gather it and formulate 
it here; the hope that in some small measure it may help the 
home makers of this section to become garden makers; the hope 
that the Garden Beautiful may be quite as truly an ideal to be 
striven for now as it was in those early days when the storied 
gardens of Virginia and South Carolina as well as those of Massa- 
chusetts were known to all the world. 

To help our country come into her own and be recognized for 
what she is — the Garden Spot of the World — would not require 
many years if all those who love her would strive for this ideal. 
To aid in this most worthy achievement is the mission of this 
little book. 




BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 



19 




The orange berries of the evergreen Hawthorn 



CHAPTER II 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS— FOR EVERY GARDEN 

CLIMATIC conditions in the Southern States are particularly 
propitious in the matter of evergreens. It is not only pos- 
sible for us to grow almost all of the coniferous varieties which 
are popular in the higher latitudes, but there are many broad- 
leaved kinds which are perfectly hardy with us which cannot be 
grown out of doors elsewhere. 

Winter planting is recommended for all the broad-leaved 
evergreens except the Camellias and Azalea indica, which must 
wait until the season of bloom is over and are best put out in 
Spring, the latter part of April or the first of May. The trans- 
planting of these plants from the open ground is a difficult matter 
and if it is to succeed, defoliation is necessary. This is especially 
true of the Magnolias, Photinias, Ligustrums, Elseagnus, Laurus, 
evergreen Oaks and Viburnums. Usually the nurserymen send 



20 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

them out with a ball of earth around the roots. When one pur- 
chases them in this condition, balled and burlapped, it is only 
necessary to remove the wrappings, place the specimens in the 
ground in the especially prepared holes — and the evergreen effect 
is at once achieved. 

For the background of the shrubbery border nothing can be 
planted which gives better results and more beautiful effects 
than these broad-leaved evergreens. Where a screen is needed 
nothing can be chosen which will serve the double purpose of 
beauty and utility like masses of the English Laurel, Laurocerasus 
laurocerasus, Ligustrum japonica and Ligustrum lucidmn. Ilex 
glabra, Ilex opaca. Ilex Cassine, the Neriums, the evergreen Haw- 
thorn, Pyracantha coccinea Lalandii, and Eriobotrya japonica, the 
Japanese Medlar or Loquat. 

For a quick-growing background either Cerasus caroliniana, 
the Carolina Cherry, or the native wild Olive, Oka americana, is 
distinctive and beautiful, and both subsequently assume tree-like 
growth. The wild Olive is extremely difficult to transplant from 
the wildwoods, but if cut back slightly and entirely defoliated it 
may be successfully lifted even though it has reached several feet 
in height. This is also true of the Hollies. December is the 
best time to move them. 

For the extensive grounds and bold landscape effects, Mag- 
nolia grandiflora, M. grandiflora gloriosa, M. fuscata, the sweet- 
scented Banana Shrub, the evergreen Oaks and the fragrant 
Osmanthus are used. The magnificent specimens of the beautiful 
old Magnolias that grace the spacious lawns of the old southern 
homes and line the avenues of some of our cities and most of the 
old cemeteries are wonderfully beautiful all the year. Some of 
these trees in Bonaventure cemetery at Savannah are more than 
a hundred feet high and are gloriously beautiful when in flower 
and most attractive when the scarlet seeds show on the brown 
pods in the Autumn. Here they are festooned with chnging veils 
of the grey Spanish Moss, as they are also in New Orleans. 

Individual specimens of these trees are often planted in the 
sidewalk grass plots and are most attractive in this situation as 
well as wherever large evergreen plantings are desirable. The 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 



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THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 23 

only objections to the Magnolia plantings on the lawn are the 
constant falling of the leaves which makes it impossible to keep 
the lawn neat under them, and the deep shade which renders it 
very hard to secure a close and firm growth of grass. 

Of the smaller shrubs for mass and individual growth none is 
sweeter than Olea fragrans^ the Tea Olive, which is considered by 
many the most fragrant shrub we have. The dainty clusters of 
creamy white blossoms, while in themselves insignificant, begin 
to show in November and for six months the garden is the sweeter 
for their presence. They are as delightful indoors as they are 
outside and the shrub is particularly desirable on account of its 
comparatively rapid growth. 

Among the broad-leaved evergreens that bloom in the Autumn 
are the heavenly sweet Oleasters, Elxagnus macrophylla and the 
bronze-leaved Elaeagnus reflexa. If only for their fragrance they 
should be found in every garden. The fruit which comes in March 
is decorative and highly prized for its acidity by the Chinese, 
who use it for jellies and jams. These, with Eriobotrya japonica^ 
the Japanese Loquat, bloom in October, and perfume the air for 
a wide circumference with their delicious odors. The Assam 
Tea Plant, Thea Bohea, blossoms a little later and is truly a trop- 
ical shrub. This plant is not as well known as it should be, for 
it is really a beautiful plant at all times and in the blooming season 
most attractive. The petals are pearly white, either four or five 
in number, and much like the Orange blossoms in texture but 
larger in size and with masses of yellow anthers in the center. 
The buds resemble those of the Oranges. The flowers, closely 
studded along the stems among the deep green leaves, make a 
very striking Midwinter garden picture. They bloom from 
November until February. About twenty miles from Charleston 
these Teas are grown for commercial use and are a successful 
experiment in foreign plant introduction. From this point and 
south along the Gulf Coast they are perfectly hardy. This is 
almost a Christmas flower. 

Other Christmas greens that should be planted are the Hollies, 
which should always be closely associated in groups that include 
both the pistillate and staminate kinds. The familiar American 



24 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Holly, Ilex opaca, is not more attractive than Ilex aquifoHum, the 
European Holly; and the Chinese and Japanese varieties, Ilex 
cornuta and Ilex crenata^ with Ilex glabra, the native Winter- 
berry or Inkberry, are all good and hardy garden plants. Ilex 
cassine, the native Holly, called Cassine Berry, is a beautiful and 
attractive shrub. The tree Hollies should, of course, be used 
for background and border planting or as a screen. They are of 
beautiful light green color that contrasts most delightfully with 
the foliage of the darker-leaved plantings. A southern lawn in 
its Winter dress of bright velvety green framed in a border of 
American Holly, with vivid green leaves and bright-hued berries, 
is a Winter picture that is as beautiful as it is striking and well 
worth striving for. 

Particularly would I stress the desirability of planting these 
Holly trees on the farms, in the dooryards, and by the roadsides. 
Not only because they are beautiful and desirable from the artistic 
standpoint, but because the vandals who go forth at each recurring 
Christmastide are robbing our woodlands of their most beautiful 
trees, some replanting must be done soon or the Holly will be a 
forgotten story. Therefore, plant Holly, Ilex opaca. December 
to February is the accepted planting season. Defoliate the tree 
to be moved, cut off the roots that have been bruised in digging, 
set the tree in good soil and a favorable situation, and while the 
growth is very slow at first, once established it is fascinating to 
watch. Soon you will be proudly speaking of your own Christ- 
mas tree in your garden. Then, see how you feel if some would-be 
decorator slips in by night and cuts off half of ten years' growth 
at one fell swoop! 

A noteworthy group of shrubs consists of the evergreen Vibur- 
nums. The most popular, hardy and satisfactory is Viburnum iinus, 
commonly known as Laurustinus. The creamy panicles of bloom 
are preceded by buds of bright red which come in November and 
make the plant showy in Winter. The white flowers appear in 
February and all Summer the black clusters of berries persist. 
Laurustinus is frequently used as a hedge plant and in one formal 
garden I know has grown to a height of twenty feet on each side 
of a long walk. When in blossom it is heavenly sweet and won- 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 



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26 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 27 

derfully beautiful. Shearing has the tendency to reduce the 
flower heads. 

Fow low-growing masses and for Summer bloom the delicate- 
leaved Abelia grandiflora is most reliable and hardy. It is con- 
tinuously in bloom from June until October and when planted 
in large groups is very charming. Masses of the deciduous Spirxa 
Thimbergii with the Abelia make a very fine foundation planting 
and give good results where more delicate shrubbery is needed 
than is furnished by the larger-leaved varieties of these ever- 
greens. Abelia and Spiraea Thunbergii also make charming 
flowering hedges where beauty is wanted in the dividing line 
rather than strength. 

Even more dainty of foliage than the Abelia is Nandina domes- 
tical which is almost a Fern in its delicate greenness. In Winter 
the leaves assume tones of coppery orange, the new leaves always 
have a reddish tinge, and the contrasting tones of the leaf buds 
with the delicate green of the finely cut foliage is a charming and 
necessary addition to the darker greens of the usually somber- 
leaved evergreens. In the Spring there are creamy panicles of 
white flowers which are followed by heavy clusters of brilliantly 
scarlet berries; these, persisting all Winter, make this a most effec- 
tive garden shrub. The Chinese use it extensively in their landscape 
work and call it "Heavenly Bamboo." The best Nandinas I 
have seen were grown in the mountains of North Carolina and 
there are plants growing in nearby gardens that were put out 
over a hundred years ago. Still there are many who never heard 
of it. 

Ligustrum amurense^ Amoor Privet, while usually planted for 
a hedge, also furnishes the lighter green tones and delicate leafage 
desired in the shrubbery border of evergreen plantings. 

The most exquisite of the evergreen flowers, Kalmia latifolia, 
commonly known by the unpoetic name of Calico Bush, but 
really Mountain Laurel, grows so freely in our mountains and 
wildwoods that few gardens include it. Blossoming in the Spring 
and freshly green all the year, if it can be successfully naturalized, 
it is a wonderful addition to the garden. Although hard to 
transplant from the woodlands, it is not difficult to establish if 



28 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




KALMIA LATIFOLIA, THE MOUNTAIN LAUREL 
It is equally at home North or East or South — in the Catskills, the Cumberlands or on the 
old red hills of Georgia, and beautiful everywhere. Give it a shady nook, plenty of leaf- 
mold and good drainage 



secured from a reliable nurseryman, balled and burlapped, pro- 
vided the gardener is careful to prepare for it the deep, rich 
leafmold, clean loam, and good drainage that it demands when 
away from its native heath. It must also have the requisite 
amount of sun and shade — not too much of either. Planted in 
heavy masses, as the Rhododendrons should always be planted, 
on the edges of the woodlands, where the background of hills and 
trees is a part of the garden picture, its beauty increases from 
year to year. 

Very seldom is this done, but why not bring the glory of the 
Catskills in June and the wonder of the Cumberlands and the 
Alleghanies in April to gladden our gardens and make beautiful 
pictures on our southern estates ? 

The English Laurel, Laurocerasus laurocerasus, the Apollo's 
Laurel, Laurus nobilis, and the old favorite, Buxus semperviretjs. 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 



29 



are foliage plantings that are eminently desirable and reliable 
for evergreen effects of both formal and informal nature. The 
Boxwood is, of course, most used for formal pruning. 

Pittosporum Tobira, the Japanese Pittosporum, is a globular 
form of evergreen that can be sheared into any desired form. 
Sheared, it is excellent for accenting curves in walks or drives. 
It grows very rapidly and is one of the most attractive of the 
broad-leaved shrubs. Its creamy-white flowers that show in 
February are insignificant, but the plant is always beautiful. 
As a foreground planting, or used together with the deciduous 
Pearl Bushes, Exochorda grandiflora, it is wonderfully beautiful. 

The Gardenias, G. jasminoides florida and G. Forlunei, should 
be planted in December and for those who care for the heavy 
odor, they are desirable and attractive shrubs. 

As severe Winters have disastrous effects on the Neriums 
(Oleanders), it would not be advisable to use them for open ground 
effects above the latitude of Savannah. Where they will grow, 
nothing is lovelier than either hedges or specimen plantings of 









^^i'^^tt^^^^^.^^^^ ^A 







ENGLISH LAUREL IN ALL ITS BEAUTY AND USEFULNESS 
An effective screen planting of this popular subject is shown at the left 



30 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



^^^^^^^^K%«', . ^IIH^v ^M 


^H 


Hr^>j 


I^^H 


■kj^»^ 


'^li&^i^^B 


Efjb^' 


wS 




H 


^H^iiK' \^^r 


H 


iim^^,i,„^ 


i^H 



The starry Oleander blossom, from a plant 
150 years old in the author's garden 



Oleanders. They blossom for 
many months, are almost 
immune from insect pests, 
through all sorts of treatment 
and through no sort of treat- 
ment, they go from glory to 
glory and are well worthy of 
the name of the very best of 
our garden friends. Of com- 
paratively rapid growth, I 
know of many plants that are 
from eight to twelve feet in 
height and many feet in di- 
ameter five or six years after 
planting. 

For tropical effects, either 
in the background or the fore- 
ground, few plantings equal 
the Yuccas. The plan of plant- 
ing hedges of the variety known as the Spanish Bayonet, Yucca 
aloifolia, is not to be recommended. This is the least desirable 
of the three kinds that are available, because it has a tendency 
to grow tall and, becoming top-heavy, fall in unsightly positions. 

If a Yucca hedge is desired, plant the lower-growing kind. 
Yucca filamentosa, commonly known as Bear Grass. The finer- 
leaved Mexican Yucca Treculeana, is the most attractive of all, 
though the characteristic flower stalks are not quite so heavy as 
are those of Y. filamentosa and Y. aloifolia. 

They are all handsome when in flower. The stalks rise at 
least three feet above the needle-tipped leaves and the creamy, 
bell-shaped blossoms cover them from stem to tip. They are 
very fragrant also, which is an additional attraction that, added 
to their rather unusual form, makes them especially desirable. 
One could not wish to see a prettier picture than that made against 
a brick wall or a dark evergreen background by the gray-green 
Yucca spikes crowned by the handsome clusters of sweet-scented 
blossoms, almost like a giant Hyacinth stalk, as they ring out 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 



31 




CURIOUS, BUT ATTRACTIVE. TOO 
Tropica! Florida shows'many interesting forms of the genus Euphorbia. This fine specimen 

is at Miami 



32 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




A SPLENDID LIVE OAK 
Quercus virginiana in Savannah, Ga., gracefully draped with Spanish Moss 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 33 

the Summer chimes which call the humming bird and butterflies 
and bees to their noonday convocations. 

The evergreen Barberries are justly popular, the most fre- 
quently planted being Berberis japonica and Mahonia aquifolia, 
which require a partially shaded situation and a rather moist soil 
and do well when planted in a thick group of shrubbery. Here 
the heads of yellow flowers show brilliantly in the very earliest 
days of Spring, and the clusters of turquoise-blue berries that 
persist all Summer are most interesting and unusual. 

Of all the evergreen plantings none can be given that are 
more reliable and satisfactory than the evergreen Privets. They 
are sufficient in themselves to make an interesting garden. 
Ligustrum japonicu?n, L. lucidum and L. nepaJense are most used 
for thick background and screen plantings and by judicious 
mingling of these three varieties one can make a screen twenty- 
five feet tall that comes close down to the turf. The blossoms 
of all these varieties are typical and they have large leaves of 
shiny green which when small are of delicate light green color and 
when matured are rich deep chrome. The clusters of green ber- 
ries on Ligustrum japonicu?n and L. nepalense are very attractive 
in Summer. In the Fall and Winter they are purple and black 
with a soft bloom. 

For lighter plantings where a more delicate growth is needed 
Ligustrum ^uihoui and L. sinense are good. Their foliage Is very 
small and dainty and much lighter than the ones just mentioned. 
All of the Privets give fine results in landscape work. 

It were a waste of time to enumerate all the evergreen plant- 
ings that can be used in the Southern States. With those that 
are given borders of broad-leaved evergreens can be made that 
will serve every purpose needed and that will be in blossom from 
January to January and that will be always beautiful. 

Rhododendrons are wonderfully beautiful in the sections 
between Asheville and Atlanta, but farther south are hard to 
establish and usually unsatisfactory. This is written in spite 
of a few successful plantings. The average garden rule for Rho- 
dodendrons is failure. Why try them ? Our world is so full 



34 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

of an infinite number of broad-leaved evergreens that grow easily 
and thrive well we have not time to wish for the Rhododendrons 
of other climes. 

Not the least charm of the gardens of Tea Olives, Oleasters, 
Pittosporums, Eriobotryas, Laurustinus and Abelias is the char- 
acteristic fragrance of all the varieties. Another striking merit 
is the beauty of the fruit of almost all of them. The scarlet 
berries of the Hollies, the orange clusters of the Hawthorn berries, 
the purple and black of the Privets, the clear blue of the Mahonia, 
the rosy-tipped buds of the Laurustinus, that show even while 
the black berries are on the plants, add brightness to the garden 
picture and make even Winter gay. From the creamy white 
of the Tea Olive and the dainty blush-tinted Abelia and the 
golden-hearted Tea blossoms, through the galaxy of Spring flow- 
ers to the starry Oleanders that come in Midsummer, down to 
the scarlet berries of the Hollies and the tawny clusters of the 
Thorns of the Autumn days, and on again through the years, 
always and all the time our broad-leaved evergreen flora fur- 
nishes wonderful interest, fragrance and beauty. 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



35 



CHAPTER III 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS— FOR EVERY 
GARDENER 

NO fence that was ever built or planned can equal in attrac- 
tiveness, for division lines or for street protection, a hedge 
of ornamental growth. Not only does the living boundary need 
no repair, but it grows in beauty from year to year. It is best 
to plant a hedge in December, but if unavoidable delay has occurred 
it is not too late to take advantage of the rifts in the February 
clouds and to plant out those shrubs, both deciduous and ever- 
green, those Roses and those hedge plants that are required in 
the garden plan, feeling sure of good results from even the late start. 




Clipped standards of Cerasus caroliniana, or] Wild Olive, give distinction to this Ligustrum 

amurense hedge 



36 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Preparation for planting a hedge should be even more care- 
fully made than in making a lawn or planting trees and shrubs. 
The soil should be more thoroughly enriched and the digging 
should be deeper because greater demands are to be made on it 
by the close and permanent planting. 

The distance at which hedge plants should be set depends 
entirely upon the varieties used. As close growth from the 
ground is the object to be attained it is necessary to put the plants 
closer than they will be required at full growth and, if necessary, 
later to cut out the surplus and intermediate growth which crowds 
too much. The best form for a hedge is the conical or triangular, 
because the tendency in this form of cutting is to encourage growth 
from all points along the sides, while the perpendicular pruning 
produces growth only at the top and is likely to develop a thin- 
ness at the ground where it should be thickest. 

For formal planting the Amoor and California Privets are 
unexcelled. The Amoor, Ligustrum amurense, is unquestionably 
the most desirable hedge plant grown in this section for the home 
grounds. It is of comparatively rapid growth and retains its 
bright colored foliage the entire year. It should be closely cut 
back when put out, should be planted not more than one foot 
apart, and if kept closely trimmed, in two years makes not 
only an effective but highly ornamental division line or screen. 
Uncut, the Amoor Privet reaches a height of twenty feet and 
forms a background of indescribable loveHness when it flowers 
in April and May. 

Ligustrum ovalijolium^ the California Privet, retains some of 
its foliage in Winter, is a darker color and is more satisfactory 
for the higher latitudes. It is used much more in the North and 
West than in the South. 

For a low-growing hedge, where strength as well as beauty is 
desirable, Thunberg's Barberry, Berberis Thunbergii, is most 
effective. Its leaves of bright green throughout Summer, change 
to a rich red in Autumn and the bright red berries which are 
borne in profusion are wonderfully attractive all Winter and 
contrast with the delicate green of the foliage in Spring. This 
most beautiful shrub is one of our importations from Japan. It 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



37 




38 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



39 



is hardy everywhere. If undipped it forms a low, dense hedge 
of great beauty and used formally it makes one of density and 
durability, as well as beauty. 

Almost as delicate as Fern fronds are the leaves of Thun- 
berg's Spiraea, Spirxa Thunbergii^ which usually blooms in March 
and whose dainty and beautiful little blossoms remind one forcibly 
of Baby's Breath, Gypsophila paniculata. It is commonly called 
Snow Garland and the finely-cut brown stems are flower-starred 
before the leaves show at all. Its branches are slender and droop- 
ing, its leaves very narrow and of light green which changes to 
an orange and red in the Fall. This is a planting that makes 
for beauty and not for protection. For lightening masses of shrub- 
bery, for softening the lines of buildings, for outlining terraces, 



Q^^^^HpPT^ ' 


""^1^ 






• ^ ^ 






►at.: v^ .*f" ■"''■' * ' \ ■' 

5 -^^"'-;-^-* :v,,,^v ■■ -4 












! 



Tree Boxwood (Buxus sempervlrens) as it grows in Maryland 



40 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

for masses of beauty in any part of the grounds this Spiraea is 
invaluable to the landscape artist. 

For strength and durability there is no hedge plant that 
can equal Citrus trifoliata, the Japan Hardy Orange, and while 
it is not an evergreen, the hardy wood of a rich olive-green color 
makes it not unsightly in Winter. If cut closely three times a 
year it may be kept within bounds and nothing can penetrate it 
"from a rabbit to an elephant." The blossoms that show in 
early Spring are very fragrant and add much to the attractive- 
ness of the hedge at this season. This is said to be hardy as far 
north as New Jersey. 

Prunus caroliniana^ the Mock Orange of the South, is almost 
too well-known to need mention. It grows very rapidly, and 
must be kept closely sheared and watched carefully in order to 
keep it within bounds. It is, however, a beautiful evergreen 
hedge plant and for large boundaries where quick growth and 
strong protection are needed nothing will give better results. 

Rhaynniis catharticus^ the common Buckthorn, thrives in 
moist, loamy soils and in partial shade and is recommended for 
a defensive hedge where it is advisable to use a large-growing 
species. It has not only handsome foliage but showy berries. 
It is also extremely hardy and such a vigorous grower that it can be 
depended on for protection at an early date after planting. 

For the old-fashioned formal garden, such as our grand- 
mothers used to make, Boxwood, Buxus se?npervirens, is in great 
demand. All along the Atlantic Coast from Boston to New 
Orleans, these old gardens are to be seen. Most of them were 
planted with formal beds outlined in the Boxwood, inclosing 
shrubs and perennials and annuals at random. Some of them 
are unkempt and uncared for, others are trim and neat and in 
perfect condition, and in their quaint and stilted way they stand 
as monuments to that ante-bellum period of the geometric design 
and the formal garden. They belong to the day of brick paths 
and tangled shrubs with an Arborvitae boundary hedge, with the 
lower Boxwood borders outlining the designs. These old Box- 
wood borders are certainly attractive, the old evergreens are 
many of them stately and beautiful at this time, and both seem 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



41 




A young hedge of Ligustrum amurense started in the "way it should go"— that is, a pyra- 
midal shape 




An older hedge showing the effect of pyramidal training. The Amoor Privet is the best 
all-round Southern hedge 



FOR A DENSE HEDGE KEEP THE BOTTOM WIDER THAN THE TOP 



42 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




Q 

a 



^z 



13 Qi 



^ ^"^ 



UJ 

z 

Q 

z 

<: 

H 
O 
UJ 



"^ S 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



43 



everlasting In their slow growth, but who would make such a 
garden now ? Let us preserve these that we have, in honor of 
a day long dead, but for the new ones the new order to which we 
have changed is certainly best. 

Of the new ones the most beautiful and most carefully tended 
formal garden that I know of has a gray stone bird bath in the 
center of a sweep of velvet turf. Radiating from this axis are 
grass walks which bound formal beds that are outlined in that 
beautiful dark green, dwarf Boxwood, Buxus se?npervirens suffruti- 
cosa. Accenting the corners and marking the turns in these 
beds are small conifers, the Juniperus communis hibernica. It 
is the delight of the gardener to keep those beds filled with a 
changing panorama of exquisite color that varies from season to 
season. Once there were thousands of Darwin Tulips of every 
tint in their rhythm of color harmony; later there were hundreds 
of Phlox Drummondii and Sweet Williams in all the tones of pink 
and red; again the whole garden was carpeted in flowers of the 
salmon tints that line the shells on the beach on a Summer's 
morning; Snapdragons, Poppies, Tulips, Hyacinths, in every 
imaginable depth and shade, but all of the one key in the color 
scale. Not a discord in the whole range of the garden's harmony. 
Again the fragrant Violas and velvety Pansies lifted their faces 
skyward and the garden was tinted from white to sunny gold 







Juniperus virginiana behind Ligustrum amurense makes a soft but very effective screen 



44 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




A USEFUL HEDGE PLANTING 
Note how it separates the terrace from the lawn 




BOXWOOD EDGING JUST SIX YEARS OLD 
It makes this modern garden look like those of a past century 



ORNAMENTAL HEDGE PLANTS 



45 




A closer side view of the hedge pictured on page 43, showing its curved 
pyramidal outline 

and from violet again to pearly white; and so on through the 
years and ever with the dark ribbons of Boxwood to bind the 
harmonies of the flower tones to the velvet greens of the turf. 
As the ultimate growth of this variety of Boxwood is six inches 
there will never be other than this band of dark green ribbon to 
show through the garden pictures of the years. 

The entrance to this garden is through a wicket gate of white- 
wood that is set under an arch of pleached Amoor Privet, Ligus- 
trum amnrense, and this forms part of the hedge that bounds 
this lovely garden unit in the beautiful grounds of which it forms 
a part. 




46 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




TWIN CYPRESSES ACCENT THIS GARDEN ENTRANCE 

The borders in this unit of the garden are filled with Azaleas, Spiraeas, Lilies, Iris and 

bulbs, and are kept within bounds by a margin of clipped English Ivy 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 47 



CHAPTER IV 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS— FOR ALL WHO LOVE 

THEM 

WHETHER planted for the beauty of the individual spec- 
imen, for groups in the shrubbery border, for hedges, or 
for plantations, there is nothing which gives more satisfaction, 
more beauty, more fragrance than the Azaleas of all kinds. The 
earliest to bloom shows its color in January and from then until 
May one after another of the species may be seen. The native. 
Azalea indica, and the Chinese Azalea amoena, are both desirable, 
hardy, evergreen shrubs; the latter being hardy in all the South- 
ern and Pacific States and the former as far north as New York. 

The Azaleas are very particular as to soil. They prefer a 
rich, moist, well-drained earth containing leafmold or wood's 
earth, as near like the swampy woodlands that form their native 
habitat as it is possible to get. For this reason, also, they ask 
for protection from the afternoon sun in Summer and the cold, 
piercing winds of Winter, and do best when planted against a 
background of trees or shrubbery, a garden or boundary wall, 
or where they are sheltered by the house. Many city homes 
face the north, and it is very hard to find plantings that will give 
satisfactory results under such conditions of shade and dampness 
as usually prevail there. In this situation, given the soil they 
need, Azalea indicas are ideal. 

The beautiful colorings in these plants give one wide choice, 
and it is possible to have not only a succession of bloom in group 
plantings, but also to have a gorgeous color harmony that ranges 
from the warm side of the color scale and the deep tones of the 
glowing crimson, Le Flambeau, the rich rose of Comtesse de 



48 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Beaufort, the pink, delicate and exquisite Mme.Van der Cruyssen, 
up to the purest white of the Deutsche Perle. 

In the violet tones are Bernard Andre, which is dark violet 
purple, very large and very double, and Theo. Reimers, a double 
lilac, which is most dainty and beautiful. A plantation of these 
two varieties lightened with the Deutsche Perle gives a poem of 
exquisite color harmony. Against a background of Spring- 
blossoming shrubs in yellow tones or the deep greens of the ever- 
green plantings the effect is wonderfully fine and rather more 
unusual than the combinations generally seen of masses of pinks 
and reds with white. These, however, are justly the pride of 
our southern gardens. Many of these shrubs, in their evergreen 
loveliness, have attained a height of from twenty to thirty feet. 
Hundreds of visitors go each year to see the magnificent specimens 
in Magnolia Gardens at Charleston, which are known far and 
wide for their beauty. The gardens in New Orleans and Mobile, 
Augusta and Savannah, and other southern cities, are filled with 
these fragrant and handsome plants. They must be seen to be 
appreciated. 

For masses among the evergreen shrubbery the Azalea Hino- 
digiri is a valuable acquisition. It is a Japanese Azalea, hardy, 
blooming for quite a long period and with flowers of the brightest 
carmine. They are borne in such profusion that the foliage is 
entirely covered during the blossoming time. In the Fall the 
leaves become bronze in color. 

The colors seen in the imported yfz^/^^ ganadavensis, the Ghent 
Azaleas, and Azalea mollis, a native of China and Japan, which 
the florists offer each year, are very attractive and striking, but, 
while you enjoy these, invest also in those others which will grow 
outside and go from grace to grace and glory to glory. 

After the season of bloom is over, these pot-grown plants may 
also be put in the open ground, and will give fairly satisfactory 
results. To me, however, they do not appeal as do those which 
are indigenous. They are wonderful hybrids, but, just as a 
cluster of Chrysanthemums is far more beautiful than the yard 
of stem and the mammoth flower that have been grown from 
the sacrifice of the whole armful of blossoms, so the beauty of 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 



49 




TRUE HARMONY OF BOTH COLOR AND FORM 

The glowing colors of the Azaleas always stand out more beautifully— as here— against a 

background of conifers or broad-leaved evergreens 



50 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




li 



AZALEA KAEMPFERl. A VALLABLE JAPANESE ACCESSION 
Its brilliant colorings make it a striking feature of the flowering borders of the early Spring- 
time 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 51 

the dainty and fragrant native Azaleas make a much stronger 
appeal in their loveliness than the darlings of the florist's skill. 

Who does not remember tramping into the wildwoods as the 
early Spring days came on and the wild Violets and Dogwood 
called to the open meadows and the shadowy depths of the 
swamps ? Can one ever forget the golden harvests of the yellow 
Jasmine and the pink whorls of honey sweetness and the flaming 
torches that we called Swamp Honeysuckle, but which we now 
know for the native Azaleas ? For the sake of "Auld Lang Syne," 
those halcyon days of childhood, let us plant them in our gardens 
and let the new generations revel in the beauty and drink in the 
fragrance of our old friends of the woodlands. 

We will have Azalea Vaseyi {Rhododendron Faseyi), the Car- 
olina Azalea, a plant which is unique, but always beautiful, its 
blossoms a clear rose of several shades, appearing before the 
leaves unfold. Much like this is Azalea nudiflora, the Pinkster 
Flower, free-flowering shrubs growing from three to five feet, and 
also blossoming freely before a leaf bud shows. Azalea arborescens, 
the most fragrant of all, is much like A. indica, but is not ever- 
green. It is white, tinged with pink, with long style and exserted 
stamens of deep red. It is one of the easiest to grow and is a 
very desirable plant. The leaves are a deep, rich red in the 
Autumn. Lastly, in this group is Azalea viscosa, a small, white 
Azalea, the smallest of the species, blossoming when very young 
and giving satisfaction wherever found. 

An entirely different color rhythm is found in the flame- 
colored Azalea lutea {^Azalea calendnlacea), which is gorgeous for 
many weeks with its profuse clusters of blossoms that range 
through all the shades of vivid red, orange and yellow. Under 
cultivation it grows from six to eight feet tall. Useful for group- 
ing with this variety is the Apollo, Azalea indica, which is an 
early semi-double of a clear vermilion. These plantings of orange- 
yellows and vermilions and scarlets lighten the shrubbery border 
almost as if they were flaming torches set to show Spring the road 
to Summer, so vivid and beautiful are they. Be careful not to 
put them near shrubs with pink or crimson tones. If they are 



52 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




THE DECIDUOUS. FLAME-COLORED AZALEA, A. CALENDULACEA 

A native of our southern swamps, it loves a deep soil and a shady corner where it strikes a 

brilliant note of color in the late Spring 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 53 

kept separate or surrounded by masses of green and against a 
green background they are magnificent. 

The last-mentioned five of these shrubs are deciduous and 
natives of the Alleghany Mountains, of the Georgia and Carolina 
swamps, and without exception have responded to cultivation 
and become worthy of prominent places in any garden. 

Nurserymen advise the planting of all the Azaleas at any 
time from October to April or May. If they are put out in the 
Fall they must be protected during the first Winter. Planted 
after the blooming season is over, in either March or April, in a 
partially shaded situation where they are sheltered from the 
heated Summer suns, they will go through the Summer's heat 
and the Winter's cold and come into full blossom the next Spring. 
The main thing to do is to plant them — ^just as many as you can 
afford — both of the evergreen and deciduous kinds — mass them, 
group them, tend them, water them, and next year, and every 
year thereafter, enjoy them. 

For the same reason that April is the best time to plant the 
Azaleas, it is also the accepted time to plant Camellia japonicas, 
which attract so much attention in our southern gardens and 
are unquestionably striking plants. The foliage is a rich, dark 
shiny green and the flowers are handsome and showy. They 
also thrive best in fertile, porous soils and in partial shade. They 
must have protection from the Winter's cold. They come into 
bud about Christmas time, and if the weather is propitious, the red 
and pink and vari-colored japonicas and the pearly white Camellias 
will be in full bloom by St. Valentine's Day. The cold seems 
not to injure the leaves, but the buds and blossoms are very 
tender, and often turn brown and fall off just in the midst of the 
blooming season. 

There is one variety, Mercedes, a clear rose-color, not closely 
double, v/ith many bright yellow stamens, that is not only beauti- 
ful, but has a delicate odor that is delightful making it, to me, 
the most attractive of the species. The waxen blooms of the 
other varieties, absolutely odorless, seem like ghost flowers. 

These two groups of evergreen shrubs, which should be planted 
in the Springtime instead of Fall, are generally considered more 



54 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




CAMELLIAS-RARE JEWELS OF SOUTHERN GARDENING 
Their almost too-perfect flowers appearing in Winter are always most welcome 



AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS 55 

delicate and harder to grow successfully than the other broad- 
leaved evergreens. The Azaleas do not like a clay soil and will 
not grow in it. They demand much leafmold and are very par- 
ticular as to situation. Given these requirements, remembering 
that the Azaleas particularly are of very slow growth, should 
never be cut, and should be planted against a background of 
evergreen shrubbery or vines and in masses close together, the 
plantings will give abundant harvests of beauty, fragrance and 
garden joy. 




56 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




EFFECTIVE USE OF CONIFERS ON A FORMAL TERRACE 
Abellas, Ligustrum and Pittosporum define the terrace and lawns and Biota aurea nana Is 

used in the jars 




A HAPPY GROUPING OF CYPRESSES AND PINES 

Pinus excelsa (Bhotan Pines) and Cupressus pyramidalis royalii provide a happy solution 

in framing an entrance and screening a service court 



CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 57 



CHAPTER V 



CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS— FOR BEAUTY AND ACCENT 

I HERE is nothing which so fitly typifies the spirit of the New 
-^ South as the majestic loveliness of the stately Himalayan 
Cedar, Cedrus Deodara. Its pyramidal outlines tower skyward 
unrestrained and fearless. Its roots dig deeply and lovingly into 
the old red clay of the Georgia hills with the same fondness with 
which it must cling to Oriental clay on the heights that bound the 
farther shores of the Seven Seas. Its ambitions and ideals are 
lofty. For just sixteen short years twin sisters have stood at 
each side of an hospitable doorway with which I am well familiar, 
yet today they lift their waving branches at least sixty feet above 
the sod. Graceful and gentle and tenderly gracious in their 
soft coloring and delicate tracery of leaf and stem and branch, 
yet strong to endure both the Summer's heat and the Winter's 
cold, Antgeus-fashion they bend to touch the earth and thus 
gain strength with which to climb up and up and up on their 
ambitious way to the stars. 

THE SOIL FOR DEODARAS 

Where there is room, where dignity and grace are desirable, 
where soft coloring in the evergreen notes is needed, plant De- 
odaras. In choosing the situation for these trees perfect drainage 
and plenty of clay in the soil must be assured. This done, nothing 
will give more satisfactory or more beautiful or quicker results. 
It is better to select trees that have grown large enough to have 
some character, say from thirty inches to thirty-six inches in 
height, and these can be purchased from any reliable southern 
nursery. Small sizes can be had, but the difference in strength 



58 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

and in rapidity of growth will amply repay the additional expense 
for the initial planting of the larger sizes. 



THE FORMAL BEAUTY OF THE CYPRESSES 

With outlines more symmetrical and formal, with branches 
more closely appressed, with leafage more delicate in color and 
feathery in texture than the native Cedar {Juniperus virginiana) 
of comparatively rapid growth and with great adaptability, the 
Cypresses from many quarters of the earth that grow easily and 
beautifully along the lower Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions of 
the Southern States form a long list. 

They vary in color, in height, and in contour and can be secured 
to suit almost any requirement of soil or situation. Where a 
screen planting is desirable and deciduous plantings like the Pop- 
lars are used as a background, the slower growing Cypress trees 
can be put in to fill the spaces and ultimately to make an ever- 
green screen. For such positions Cupressus Benthami and Cu- 
pressus gracilis are equally good. C. BeJithami forms a perfect 
cone with its greatest diameter five feet or six feet from the ground. 
Its leaves are feathery and of a soft glaucous green that is almost 
the same in Summer and Winter. C. Benthami is one of the most 
rapid growers among the evergreen trees. It is beautiful in 
every stage of its history, but it is more susceptible to cold than 
C. gracilis^ and can only be used in warm sections. Both it and 
C gracilis are very fine trees for formal plantings to accent the 
architectural notes in the garden plan and for thickets along the 
boundaries. 

Of a rich green that is almost velvety black in the deep shadows 
is the pyramidal Cypress, Cupressus Knightiana. On the border 
of a plantation of Pines where the deep browns and vivid greens 
of these trees carry the same color tones, this Cypress is wonderful. 
Its broad base and uplifted arms with closely massed leaves are 
not as graceful as the softer colored and more feathery varieties, 
but its beauty deserves a position of prominence and its stateli- 
ness requires a dignified setting. 



CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 



59 




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60 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



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CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 61 



OLD-WORLD CYPRESSES 



For the formal effects made famous by the beautiful gardens 
of the Orient and Italy there are the Italian and Roman Cypresses, 
Cupressus sempervirens iC.Jastigiatd) and the far-famed Cupressus 
funebris so extensively used in the temple courts of China. Both 
of these varieties are of easy and rapid growth and adapt them- 
selves readily to the various soils. Their leaves are very delicate 
and the coloring is deep and rich, but not dark enough to prove 
somber. Single specimens of these trees planted close to the 
boundary lines of a brick or stucco house add dignity and grace 
and carry the formal architectural lines of the building into the 
harmony of the garden plan. 

The most erect and shaft-like of the Cypresses are Cupressus 
sempervirens pyramidalis and C. sempervire/ns royalii, the latter 
being the most columnar and erect of all. They- grow straight 
upward and vary very little in diameter. Even though they 
attain a height of from sixty feet to eighty feet the diameter never 
exceeds four feet or five teet at the base and at the widest part of 
the tree. They are wonderfully beautiful and most graceful in their 
stately loftiness as they sway rhythmically in the wandering 
breezes that bend them to and fro all through the year. 

Edwin Neuhaus says, in speaking of the beauty secured at 
the Panama-Pacific Exposition by the Cypress trees transplanted 
from the old Spanish Missions of California, that if he had the 
making of California's laws he would require every householder 
to plant at least six Cypress trees, not only for the beauty and 
grace they would give to the present generation, but for the joy 
they would pass on to those who grow up in the coming years. 
Not quite so stringent a regulation would I urge, but for the 
privileged sections, able to grow these trees, not to do so is neglect 
of opportunity. They not only enable the planter to stress the 
formal evergreen note in his garden detail and to bridge the gap 
between the rigid lines of building and the softer lines of the 
garden scheme, but they introduce a note of permanency into 
the wonderful color harmonies that are strong in most southern 
gardens throughout the year. 



62 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

THE BHOTAN PINE 

From the southern slopes of India we have secured one of the 
best of our trees of pyramidal outline. This is the drooping fir 
of Hindustan, Pinus excelsa, sometimes called the Bhotan Pine. 
Of most exquisite grey-green color, the needles of this Pine are 
utterly different in effect from the upright Pine needles of our 
native trees. It is of very graceful habit, is easily grown, and 
more informal in effect than the Cypress. The color is much like 
that of the Himalayan Cedars, and the two make a delightful 
combination. 

The greens in the Cypresses, Arborvitses and Pines vary so 
greatly that it is necessary to exercise much care in choosing them 
lest the effect ultimately become as if one had tried to plant a 
color card of coniferous trees. Did you ever see a planting like 
that .^ Who has not ? More's the pity. If in doubt about the 
color combinations, find out before you order your plants. 

Pinus excelsa is a graceful tree, of beautiful color and quick 
growth, and is not hard to transplant from the nursery. Since 
the inroads of the home makers have driven out the native Pines 
and it is almost impossible to grow them, this Bhotan Pine, with 
the Pinus koraiensis^ the Korean Pine of dwarf growth, and Pinus 
densiflora, the Japanese Pine, must be used if we do not wish to 
give up the genus entirely. 

SOME FORMAL EVERGREENS 

For plantings of extreme formality, for evergreen borders, 
where varying sizes are necessary, there is a most formidable list 
of the Arborvitaes, Biotas and Thuyas, from which to choose. If 
the nurserymen would attach a color chart to the pages on which 
they describe their list of these plants, and use standard uniform 
nomenclature, it would benefit the unwary and too-trustful 
customers. 

However, the Arborvitse that is most used in this section is 
Biota aurea nana; and on account of its hardiness it is worthy of 
its popularity. The only objection to it is that it has a strong 
yellowish tinge on the new leaves in the Spring, but as this soon 



CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 



63 




CHAIVIA:CYPAR1S PISII'ERA PLUMOSA 
This, the Japanese plume-like Cypress is the author's favorite among all the membe 

this useful family 



64 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 65 

disappears and the green color is predominant we plant it in spite 
of its variegation at the Springtime — not because of it, as so 
many do. This Biota is of comparatively dwarf growth and 
extremely compact habit, and on this account is especially good 
for urns, jars, and boxes. With this, where a taller form of the 
same coloring is needed. Biota aurea pyramidalis or B. conspicua 
may be used. This becomes tree-like, ultimately growing from 
twenty feet to twenty-five feet. The Summer heat brings out the 
green tones in this tree also. Thuya orientalis compacta and 
Thuya orientalis globosa are two good forms of sturdy growth and 
graceful habit. All these will be satisfactory and will give imme- 
diate effects. 

The Retinisporas, R. plumosa and R. squarrosa Feitchii, are 
two of the most attractive conifers we have. The R. plumosa is 
pyramidal in outline and the foliage is extremely dainty and 
Fern-like. It turns brown in the Winter, but it is not unattractive 
even at that time. It is broader at the base than the Biotas and 
does not grow so tall as the Cypresses, ultimately. It is a very 
fine specimen tree. R. squarrosa Veitchii is of a beautiful blue- 
green color and is useful for cutting for house decoration and 
makes a wonderful plant for accent on either side of entrances 
— or walks or drives. 

All of these evergreens should be planted during the Winter 
months. From November to May is the accepted planting 
season. Personally, late Fall and early Spring plantings have 
been found most satisfactory. Holes should be dug both deep 
and wide. There should be plenty of good, rich, loamy soil, and 
six inches of clay should always be put in the bottom of the hole 
if the ground is inclined to be sandy. Water should be used very 
freely both on the leaves and around the roots during the whole 
of the first season after planting. The long, hot Summers are 
very trying on these plants. They should never be watered 
while the sun is shining on them. 

These simple rules followed, no planting can be made that 
will give more attractive effects or add more to the beauty oi the 
home grounds. 



66 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




OLD-FASHIONED ROSES 



67 









1^ 




^^^'■g 


■" 






f^s^ .Igl 





Frau Karl Druschki, the handsomest of all white Roses, although a hybrid perpetual, blooms 
more than once during the southern year 



CHAPTER VI 



OLD-FASHIONED ROSES— HOW TO GROW THEM 

A S far as the preparation of the soil and general cultural direc- 
■*■ ^ tions are concerned, any good article on Rose planting 
applies to the South no less than to other sections. There, how- 
ever, we must stop and hew out for ourselves a new road to meet 
the climatic and growing conditions that confront us. 

Many years our gardens can show Roses from early March 
to late November and often December. South of Nashville no 
protection is needed for any varieties; even the tender Niphetos 
and the tenderer Marechal Niel go safely through our severest 
Winters. We might almost say, "Plant Roses and let them alone, 
and warm sunshine and gentle rains will do the rest." If it were 
possible for me to have only one kind of a flower in my garden 
that one would be a Rose. No other flower so well repays one 
for all the attention showered upon it, nor does so well without 
care. 

December and January are always Rose planting and Rose 
pruning time in the Southern States. After the first heavy frost 



68 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



the weak canes should be cut out, and the strong ones cut back 
closely if long stems and fine quality of blossoms are desired. 
One amateur Rose grower, whose gardens are fanous for the 
beauty and size of the long-stemmed flowers, makes it his invari- 
able rule to cut back every Rose bush to within six inches of the 
ground and to remove the weak shoots entirely. One who has 
fewer plants might prefer quantity of blossoms rather than size, 
and if so, the pruning should be less severe. The vigorous growers 

need less pruning than the 
weaker, slower-growing va- 
rieties. All plants should be 
closely pruned when trans- 
planting. All but two or three 
of the strongest branches 
should be taken off and these 
cut back to within six or seven 
inches of the ground. The 
hole in which they are to be 
put should be of ample size 
and the newly planted bushes 
need to be kept well watered 
and the earth firmed well 
about the roots. 

Roses vary as to soil re- 
quirements; most Climbers 
and Hybrid Perpetuals like 
rich, heavy soil — good clay 
loam; while the nearer one ap- 
proaches the Teas and Bour- 
bons the lighter and sandier 
the soil may be. 

Climbing Roses must be 
trimmed very slightly. Of 
course, all weak and spindly 
growth should be removed 
annually and the side branches 

Caroline Testout Roses in my garden shortened in, but the main 




OLD-FASHIONED ROSES 



69 




RADIANCE, A SILVERY PINK HYBRID TEA 

One of the very best bedding and garden Roses we have 



Stem must not be disturbed. All dead canes should be removed 
as they appear antl in the pruning of all varieties the cut should 
be clean, otherwise the bruised stem will decay. The Tea Roses 
require much less pruning than those of any other variety. The 
more they are cut the less they bloom. 

Much well-decomposed manure, used both in the Fall and in 
the Spring; bonemeal and liquid manure occasionally as the 
season progresses to increase the flower crop; the ground always 
free from weeds, and other plants; sunny positions; cultivation 
and water in quantity in Summer, particularly for the first two 
seasons after planting; and pruning in the Winter, make up the 
price one must pay for fine Roses. I do not mention the use of 
insecticides, but most often they are necessary. A soapy spray 
to kill the aphids is the worst that the bedding Roses ask for. 
All in all, how small the tax in comparison with the beautiful 
returns! 



70 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

In planting due attention must be paid to soil preparation; 
and while it is better to plant them as early in the Winter as pos- 
sible, they may be safely put out from this time until the middle 
of May. The earlier the planting the more promising the blos- 
soms for the next season. 

As far as variety is concerned, choice is practically limited 
only by the lists issued by the nurserymen. Unfortunately these 
lists are most often misleading. It is wiser always to buy budded 
stock, and better to secure plants that are grown in the open 
ground, and for constant and varied bloom, true ever-blooming 
qualities, the Hybrid Tea Roses will give the best results. 

The usual Rose garden in the South is a mixed planting of 
many varieties in oblong or square beds planted in rows as they 
are in the nurseries. When one remembers the wonderful rosa- 
riums of old England with formal beds of Roses standing out in 
carefully chosen color tones, always bounded by borders of turf 
and with the divisions and walks invariably of softest, velvety 
green one hopes that some day the landscape architects will be 
able to awaken the amateur gardeners of the South to their priv- 
ileges and start them making such gardens on this side of the 
water. Small beds of single colors framed in foregrounds of turf 
give a proper setting for this queenly flower. 

For the porch pillars, the pergola, the summerhouse, the 
hedge, and the wire netting that frames the tennis court, for the 
trellises on the garage, or to make a background for the Roses in 
the borders, there are the . multitudes of climbers and trailers. 
For evergreen effectis, the white and pink Cherokees, both single 
and double, though the former are more beautiful, and the Wichu- 
raianas can be depended upon for quick growth, and wonder- 
ful beauty of bloom and foliage. 

Slower of growth and not evergreen are the pink and white 
Dorothy Perkins, the Tausendschon, and Philadelphia, which is 
almost a perpetual blooming Crimson Rambler. All of these 
have to be cut down to the ground every few years on account 
of the mildew to which they are subject. 

Of the old favorites we have Lamarque, Devoniensis, Mal- 
maison, La Reine, Marie Henriette, the Marechal Niel and the 



OLD-FASHIONED ROSES 



71 




The effect here would be still better if the plants were set closer together and if dwarf Box- 
wood were used to edge the beds 




These plants, too, are entirely too far apart. Narrower beds look better and are easier to 

care for 



GRASS WALKS AND NARROW BEDS HELP ANY ROSE GARDEN 



72 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




OLD-FASHIONED ROSES 73 

Reve d'Or, which carry us through an unrivaled scale of color 
magnificence. Many of the old southern gardens show these 
Roses of a century old, kissing the topmost leaves of the tallest 
trees or screening the porches up to the third and fourth stories. 
Their prodigal wealth of blossom must be seen to be appreciated. 

Frau Karl Druschki, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, and the 
Bride are the handsomest of the white bush Roses. Of the pink, 
none are better than the blush Malmaison, the silvery pink Duchesse 
de Brabant, the pink Devoniensis, and Bridesmaid. Etoile de 
Lyon, Francesca Kruger, and Blumenschmidt, give us the yellow 
and saffron tones of our color scale, while Agrippina, Archduke 
Charles, and Papa Gontier give us the deeper tones of red. 

For the fragrance of the attar of roses — and what is a Rose 
garden without its sweetness ? — no garden should be without 
La France (even though it is a weak grower), General Jacqueminot 
(which blooms only once a year) and Paul Neyron. 

The Rugosas, Rosa alba, and R. rubra, are usually classed 
among the broad-leaved evergreens for landscape effects in this 
section, but they are not evergreen. They grow best in a par- 
tially shaded situation and do fairly well in the shrubbery border. 
But they are never as attractive here as they are in the gardens 
of the East. 

If space is limited and only a few Roses can be planted, choose 
one or two of the Hybrid Teas that are really everblooming, and 
plant them in masses or hedge effect. So many amateurs make 
the grave mistake of trying to see how many different kinds of 
Roses they can have, while the result is far more satisfactory, 
both in the garden and for cutting, if many plants of a few varie- 
ties are chosen. I remember one hedge of Bridesmaid Roses 
which divides two small city lawns in a nearby town. The Roses 
of that border are blossoming almost all the time and I am always 
so grateful for the good taste which chose them to be all of the 
same color and kind. Specialize on quality of bloom, if specialize 
you must, and not on number of different kinds, and joy will not 
only be your portion but also the portion of your friends, the 
passing public. 



74 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

As the Rose fields of Turkey and Persia are famed for the 
richness and fragrance of their blossoms, so ought the Rose gardens 
and fields of the South to be known. There can be found in no 
other part of the world a more magnificent wealth of bloom or 
more extravagant depth of colors than are to be seen in the Rose 
fields of the South. Hundreds of acres of Roses blossoming at 
one time in the grounds of the southern nurseries is a sight worth 
traveling far to see. Not only do Roses adorn the gardens and 
grounds of the rich, but even the humblest cottage will have its 
doorway framed in the fragrant masses of the old-fashioned Seven 
Sisters, the sweet-scented Lamarque, or the Magnolia Rose of 
the South, the creamy white Devoniensis with its rosy center, 
while even the hedgerows from North Carolina to Texas are 
framed in the rich dark green of the Cherokees. With the clear 
petals of snowy white and the massed stamens of pure golden 
yellow, sweet as the sweet-briered Eglantine of old England, is it 
any wonder that the home of the Cherokee is called the land of 
sunshine and Roses ? 

From mid-April until June is the time of all the year when one 
most enjoys the growing things, for this is the time of Roses in 
this section. White and gold, pink and crimson, American 
Beauties, La France, the beloved old General Jacqueminot, the 
clustering blossoms of the Dorothy Perkins, the clambering sweet 
old Teas, all make us glad to be alive, glad to forget that there 
are cares and trials to be borne, glad to remember that life is 
sweet, that life is beautiful, that life is worth the living, that 
there is a Heaven, on earth — ^just inside our garden gates. 




MAKING A ROSE GARDEN 



75 




CHAPTER VII 



MAKING A ROSE GARDEN— TO LIVE IN AND LOVE 

CAN one conceive of a more fascinating occupation for January 
days than that of planning and planting a Rose garden ? 
There are three essentials for successful Rose growing with us, 
as elsewhere: good soil, good drainage, plenty of sunshine, prefer- 
ably of the morning sun, and if the situation is sheltered without 
being shaded, so much the better. Deep digging, artificial drain- 
age, if necessary, rich, warm, loamy soil, with some sand, and 
always clay for the Hybrid Perpetuals, are the first steps in the 
creation of the Rose garden. 

More and more garden makers of the South are coming to 
realize that the planting of Roses in number sufficient to furnish 
blossoms for the house from month to month does not necessarily 
make a Rose garden. Far from it. To be a garden worthy of 
the name there is another requirement which needs as close con- 
sideration as the three that are usually stressed first. The Rose 
garden must be a beautiful picture, in season and out of season. 
Usually no artist would call that part of the grounds devoted to 
Rose growing either beautiful or worthy of his brush and canvas 
at any season. This is all wrong. Does not the "Queen of the 
Garden" deserve a setting fit for her majestic grace of line and 
wondrous beauty of color and tone ? 



76 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



Then, the first requisite of a Rose garden or a Rose border is 
a background. It may be an evergreen hedge, an Ivy-covered 
wall, a trellis or pergola the lines of which are buried in the leaves 
of some evergreen climber. It may be a border of shrubbery 
that Is planted along the boundaries of a city lot or an estate. 
But whatever and wherever it is there must be no question about 
its abiding qualities. For the foreground the soft greens of the 
evergreen turf of the South forms a most worthy treatment. 
The middle distance will be filled with the glowing colors and rich 
shades of the Roses themselves. If the walks must be brick or 
gravel then the beds of the Roses should have an edging of turf 
not less than eight inches wide and inside this edging dwarf Box- 
wood, or Violets, or evergreen 
Candytuft will make a dark green 
ribbon to tie the harmonies of the 
Roses to the velvet greens of the 
turf. If grass walks are possible 
they are the most satisfactory in 
every way and the Rose beds 
should then have the same edging 
of Candytuft or the dwarf Box. 

Since Boxwood of all varieties 
is almost impossible to secure in 
quantity and is prohibitive in 
price, for the dwarf evergreen 
edging nothing is better than //^m^ 
se))ipervirens, the Candytuft. This 
little plant begins to bloom as 
early as January, and until April 
is a continuous delight in its snowy 
masses that carpet the ground. 
Secure good, strong plants from 
the nursery, place them six inches 
II apart and in a very short while 
they will be gladdening your heart 
as well as your garden with their 
lovely flower faces. 






Lady Banksia Roses, although riotously 

luxuriant, are at home only in the 

wanner sections 



MAKING A ROSE GARDEN 



77 




THE POPULAR POLYANTHA OR BABY RAMBLER TYPE 

Roses like this white Catherine Zeimet often bloom continuously from April until Christmas 

— if you keep the blossoms cut 



78 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




< n^ 

I— 1 .S 00 

~) la C 

ID J § 
CQ ?i i 



MAKING A ROSE GARDEN 79 

Hedera helix, the English Ivy, and Vinca major, the trailing 
Myrtle, that everybody in the South calls Periwinkle, if kept 
within bounds by regular clipping may also be used to form the 
boundary between the walks and beds of the Rose garden or of 
the perennials in the formal garden devoted to their growth. 

In a formal Rose garden with a bird bath or a sundial as the 
central axis in the midst of grass walks and Box-edged beds, as 
above outlined, the spaces for the Roses may be filled with the 
silvery pinks of the Killarneys, or the exquisite Radiance, the 
stately Lady Alice Stanley, or the dainty Bridesmaid, all Roses 
of tested value and equally desirable. Caroline Testout is another 
bedding Rose of prodigal wealth of blossoms, and beds of these 
varieties will give pleasure and satisfaction without end. 

For the white Roses that make the high lights in this garden 
canvas we will put Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, the silvery White 
Maman Cochet, the magnificent Frau Karl Druschki and the 
delicately lovely Bride. For the sunlight of the garden, Etoile 
de Lyon, Madame Blumenschmidt and Franz Deegen form yel- 
low beds of unrivaled color. Blending with these shades of gold 
we have the orange lights to be found in Sunburst, the coppery 
yellow Francesca Kruger, the Indian yellow Mrs. Aaron Ward, 
Madame Ravary, and Lady Hillingdon, so that these varieties 
with their tones of yellow, orange and salmon pink carry the 
color scale through the warm tones into the deeper pinks of Amer- 
ican Beauty and George Arends, and lead us naturally to the 
deeper crimson and reds of Ulrich Brunner, J. B. Clark and 
Meteor, and that reddest and best of all everblooming red Roses, 
Chateau de Clos Vougeot. All of these Roses will not only give 
an abundance of bloom in the Spring but most of them bloom 
intermittently all Summer and are gorgeous from August until 
the late frosts of November and December bring Winter to the 
garden. 

Framing such a garden of formal beds there should be an 
enclosing wall formed of a hedge of Amoor Privet, Ligustrum 
amurense, or Arborvitoes. Against this background the more 
vigorous planting like the Bourbons, Souvenir de Malmaison, 



80 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Hermosa and the Burbank, with the Teas, Duchesse de Brabant, 
Devoniensis and others may be made. Here alone will be found 
room for the very vigorous growing ruddy Richmond; the Frau 
Karl Druschki will be better in this situation than in the beds 
and the Paul Neyron will not look so scraggy if placed here. 
Winter pruning of the Roses in this situation would keep them 
either lower than or on a level with the wall. If space does not 
permit the garden of Roses a border or hedge against an Ivy- 
covered wall or an evergreen planting of any kind is most artistic 
and always beautiful and satisfactory. 

BABY RAMBLER ROSES 

For a planting that promises the minimum of work and the 
maximum of results, both for cut flowers in the house and for 
blossoms in the borders, there is nothing that will equal the many 
kinds of Baby Rambler Roses. Many people confuse these with 
the Wichuraiana hybrids and the Rambler Roses, and pass them 
by in the catalogues without reading about them. The Rambler 
Roses in the South are most prone to mildew and are avoided for 
that reason. 

The Baby Ramblers are the cleanest, sweetest, and loveliest 
Roses ever planted. They give nine solid months of bloom. 
Last year in March I planted 250 of these Roses in a border two 
feet wide to separate a grass walk from a center lawn, and there 
was not a single day from mid-x^pril to Christmas that those little 
bushes were not masses of the soft pink clusters of Baby Dorothy 
Perkins Roses. The catalogue name is Annie Muller. 

Catherine Zeimet is the white of this Rose. Louise Walter 
is the softest of flesh pinks, with a cup-like individual bloom, and 
the outer edge of the petals lined with a deeper touch of pink. 
The full clusters look like the branches of Baby Roses that we put 
on the hats of the tiny little girls. They are also clean and fra- 
grant and absolutely everblooming. 

Of the reds, Erna Teschendorff is the reddest, while Madame 
de Norbert Levavasseur is the color of the Crimson Rambler. 
All of them are good. The California Rose, Cecile Brunner, is 



MAKING A ROSE GARDEN 81 

not only a favorite but especially deserves its popularity. It is 
the perfection of Rose form, a Killarney in miniature, of a creamy 
color with deeper saffron tones in the heart, and its clusters of 
blossoms are not only deliciously fragrant but continuously 
present. Marie Pavie is like this in white with pink center. 

George Elger is a Polyantha like the Cecile Brunner, but gives 
the yellow note in these plantings. This is truly an everblooming 
Rose. The clusters of buds are pure saffron yellow, exquisite 
in color and form, they open very quickly on the bushes and are 
almost white when in full bloom. This is a very desirable plant- 
ing. These dainty little Roses are also useful for the large beds 
of the informal gardens. For the Rose borciers or the beds in 
the formal plantings. Winter carpets of Pansies and Violas are 
charming and the Roses seem to bloom more freely for having 
had their company. 

The hardiness of the Tea and Noisette Roses in the South 
enables us to plant these vigorous and rampant climbers on trel- 
lises, tea-houses, arbors and pergolas and revel in their boun- 
teous beauty and fragrance from year to year and almost from 
month to month. Long walks over which are arbors wreathed 
in the climbing forms of Devoniensis, Malmaison (which are 
nearly evergreen), Lamarque, Reve d'Or, Marechal Niel and 
Cloth of Gold, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria and Reine Marie Hen- 
riette are scenes of unexampled loveliness from month to month. 
All of these are vigorous and hardy climbers and make wonderful 
Summer screens for the second-story sleeping porches as well as 
for the lower plantings. 

For small arches and porch pillars it is better to plant the less 
vigorous varieties like the Ramblers and Wichuraiana hybrids. 
Of the latter the Lady Gay and Dorothy Perkins are the best 
known pink, while for yellow tones there is Gardenia, for the 
white, Alberic Barbier, and for the deeper color, Ferdinand Rous- 
sel, which is wine-red. The single-flowered Jersey Beauty and 
the red Hiawatha, with its white center, are also very attractive. 
These Roses may be trained to the desired height and then the 
branches, if allowed to droop, will form graceful festoons of lovely 
blossoms at the annual Springtime harvest. These hybrids are 



82 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




A rough stone wall and deeply recessed stairway draped with Silver Moon Roses makes 
one of the loveliest bits of Mr. Peter Bisset's garden in Washington, D. C. 



almost evergreen and very free from insect pests and for this 
reason perhaps are more popular in the South than the Ramblers, 
all of which are well known but not so vigorous here as elsewhere. 

For evergreen screens, for covering walls and terraces or 
wherever an evergreen effect is needed, the old wild Cherokee 
Rose of the South, Rosa Isevigata, is recommended. The newer 
pink Cherokee is also very lovely and both of these, while rampant 
growers, may be kept in bounds by pruning. The Banksia Roses 
in snowy white and primrose yellow, with thornless stems and 
delicate green leaves, are not nearly so well known as they deserve 
to be. Annually the violet-scented clusters of blossoms cover 
the long, graceful drooping stems to the very tip. 

I saw recently a white Banksia which covered the entire south 
wall of a house from the ground to the roof and had begun to 
clamber over the eaves which extended over the second story. 
In April this Rose vine is a solid wall of snowy loveliness and 
even in Midwinter it is charming in its deep green dress. These 
Roses are not quite so hardy as the Cherokee, but are well worth 
while for all the lower Southern and Gulf Coast States. 



MAKING A ROSE GARDEN 



83 




84 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




MARCH ACTIVITIES 85 



CHAPTER VIII 



MARCH ACTIVITIES— THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER 

GARDEN 

THE women of other sections of our United States may cover 
their gardens with wrappings of brown leaves and let them 
sleep all the long Winter through tucked away under warm blankets 
ot soft, white snow, but not so may southern women rest from their 
labors. Their gardens must be kept in blossom all the year. 
The Violets and Tea Olives come with Christmas; January brings 
the Narcissus and Snowdrops; February wakes the Hyacinths, 
the multi-colored Japonicas and the pearly Camellias, and, by 
the time the March winds blow, the garden is in its early Spring 
attire. 

March is preeminently garden-waking and garden-making 
time in the South. A month later is the rule for other sections. 
The regular March work means the starting of the Summer garden. 
The seed of Salvias, Verbenas and Antirrhinums must be planted 
in boxes and also the vegetables, Tomatoes and Peppers. In 
sunny situations, where they are to bloom, are placed the seed 
of dwarf Nasturtiums, Morning Glories, dwarf Helianthus, Ager- 
atum. Sweet Alyssum, annual Delphiniums, and Marvel of Peru. 

Of the Salvias, Ball of Fire and Bonfire are most reliable and 
satisfactory, both as to quality of bloom and length of time of 
flowering. The Salvias can be depencied on in any situation, 
whether sun or shade, provided the soil is rich and mellow. The 
seed is rather hard to germinate, and needs especial care in plant- 
ing and in seeing that it does not dry out after germinating. 

The Giant Antirrhinums and Mammoth Verbenas in white, 
pink and red, should be planted in the seed boxes or beds and 
transplanted later into permanent positions in the borders. They 



86 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

germinate easily, grow only in sunny positions, but give most 
beautiful effects. For length of time of flowering, for cut flowers 
and for fragrance, nothing is finer than the Antirrhinums. The 
first stem that comes up is apt to be very tender; this should be 
pinched off, and the plant then becomes strong and stocky and 
the flower stalks come up by dozens. The colors are soft and 
velvety and the blooming time is for several months in the Sum- 
mer, then a rest period, and then again a season of bloom that 
lasts from February to July and August. All from one planting. 
The Verbenas do not stop blooming for more than a month or 
two in the early Winter. A mass of scarlet Verbenas in the shrub- 
bery borders in Winter is a most charming picture. Both of these 
plantings may be considered and treated as perennials in the 
South. 

One March I planted two packages of Dahlia seed. Twentieth 
Century or Orchid-flowered and Double Cactus, and no planting 
that I have ever made gave me such returns in brilliance and 
beauty as did those seeds. They were planted in boxes and 
transplanted when strong enough to the background of the borders. 
There must have been at least one hundred plants. They were 
cut back and treated exactly as were those which were already 
rooted, and when the Fall months came on, from early September 
until late frost in November, the garden was ablaze with their 
beauty. 

Zinnias, as we know them now, deserve a place in every garden. 
They should be planted in the open at this time. Use Dwarf 
Large-flowering for masses of color on the edges of the borders 
and the Giant varieties for the backgrounds. The mixed colors 
should never be bought. If the white and salmon-pink are 
planted near together the result is good. The scarlet varieties 
are wonderfully bright and most effective if planted with the 
white Petunias or Phlox and with the Salvias. The crimson 
varieties are to be avoided, for they do not come true to color, 
and then the magenta tones are projected into the color scheme 
to the dismay of the artistic gardener. 

Asters make stronger plants when the seed is sown in the 
sunny borders where they are to bloom, although they grow fairly 



MARCH ACTIVITIES 



87 




8» 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




MARCH ACTIVITIES 89 

well In partial shade. If the early-branching and the late-branch- 
ing kinds are used, a succession of many weeks of flowers may be 
secured. My preference is for the white, pink and pale lavender 
of the above varieties, and nothing that grows in my garden gives 
more beauty and satisfaction. 

Cannas in the South do not have to be taken up in the Fall, 
and they multiply so rapidly that care must be exercised in placing 
them lest they overrun their more delicate and less obtrusive 
garden neighbors. Naturalized in the lawn, against fences, 
planted in clumps in chimney corners, or where a temporary 
screen is needed, they make a rich and beautiful background. 
Careful attention must be given to color, however; for, while 
hedges of either yellow or orange or red varieties are good, those 
of the mixed colors are an abomination. For a screen, the tall 
kinds are best, while, for a low hedge or clumps in the perennial 
borders, the shorter kinds are to be preferred. There are Mme. 
Alfred Conard in delicate tones of pink, the white and cream and 
primrose Eureka, the very rich shades of red King Humbert and 
Meteor in the dwarf varieties, and President as the best scarlet. 
Masses of these in the borders are very effective. 

Perennials that have become crowded and need to be separated 
should be cared for now. Veronicas, Physostegias, perennial 
Phlox, Gaillardias, and all the Summer bulbs and roots should be 
put in. The Summer-blooming shrubs and the lawn should have 
a Spring treatment of fertilizer. Be generous with the manure 
and the bonemeal and rich blossoming will repay you. 

If untoward conditions have prevented the making of a lawn, 
begin it at once. Have the soil deeply spaded, thoroughly en- 
riched, plant the most carefully selected evergreen lawn grass seed, 
and in the Fall it will be necessary only to reseed in order for you 
to have from March to March a turf that is green and rich and 
beautiful. 

If there is any time left over after the busy day's work is done, 
after the seeds are all carefully packed away, the roots and bulbs 
planted where they should be, the blue skies, the robins that nest 
in the tree tops, and the wonderful beauty of the waking world 
will gladden your eyes and rejoice your heart, for March is the 



90 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 







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The wild Rosa setigera, unlike the Cherokee, has deciduous foliage; it gives similar results 
in the higher latitudes where the Cherokee will not grow 

resurrection month in the hand of Cypress, Corn and Cotton, 
below Mason and Dixon's hne. My garden book shows that for 
three succeeding years, March winds have brought to me the 
spicy sweetness of the Hyacinths, have opened the golden bells 
of the Daffodils, and the rich cups of the Iris and Tulips. March 
comes in laden with the breath of Violets and goes out shaking 
the snowy petals of the Spireeas, lighting the flaming torches of 
the fiery Cydonias, and scattering sunshine under the long stems 
of the fragrant yellow Jasmines and dainty Banksia Roses. 




92 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




APRIL LEAVES 93 



CHAPTER IX 



APRIL LEAVES— FROM MY GARDEN BOOK 

EVERY man or woman who makes a garden should keep a 
garden calendar or book. Mine is a small blankbook about 
seven by five inches — small enough to slip easily into my hand- 
bag, and thus enable me to make my entries either at home or 
abroad. The records are written across each double page, which 
represents the record of a week in garden operations. It is really 
a logbook of my journey on the road to garden success, and, 
because the journeying was so rough at first, and mistakes were 
so frequent, the first entry on each page is one of encouragement 
— that of the blossoms, then the buds, the planting operations, 
and, lastly, notes or remarks. 

When entries of planting are made, whether of seeds, or peren- 
nials, or shrubs, the situation is also noted, and, as all the original 
entries are written with ink, a later entry in pencil is made if it 
is necessary to note that the work is a failure. At first there 
were many "n. g.'s." 

The book is a complete record of what is planted, when it is 
done, where it is placed, how it grows, and what the ultimate 
result is. Experiments are noted with especial care. Perhaps 
it would seem an arduous task; but, systematized in this way, 
it really has taken only a few minutes each week, and has been 
worth much to me. I copy the April leaves of last year that the 
reader may see how simple and yet how valuable a record it is. 
The pencil notations are put in parentheses: 

April 1 to 8 

Blooming. Tulips, very fine; Hyacinths; Crocuses; Daffodils; 
Violets; Pansies, very few; Devoniensis Rose; Banksia Roses, east 
border (shade). 



94 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Azalea indica, white and pink. Beautiful. Northern ex- 
posure, full shade, early morning sun only. 

Budding. All Roses, all shrubs. 

Planted. Seed of Phlox Dru?nmondii, west border front garden, 
shade. (N. g. on account of lack of sunlight.) 

Nasturtiums on west side of driveway, full sun, (good). 

Grass seed in back lawn, (fine). 

April 8 to 15 

Blossofns. Same as last week. 

Germinated. Asters and Zinnias in borders; Petunias in box. 

Remarks. Radishes for the table daily. 

Hyacinth and Daffodil bulbs removed from porch boxes and 
Summer Ferns planted in same. House plants. Ferns, Palms 
and Pines repotted. 

April 15 to 22 

Blossoms. Azalea indica. Grand. Philadclphus coronarius 
or Syringa, east border, shade. Very fine. 

Ker7~ia japonica, Japanese Globe Flower, west border, (shade). 

Solfaterre Rose, climbing, on west side of front porch, (full 
sun). 

Pansies and Tulips in all borders. 

Devoniensis Rose, climbing; red Roses, pink Roses in Rose 
garden, (full sun). 

Germinated. All seed in boxes and borders. 

Remarks. Radishes and Lettuce for the table daily. Very 
fine. 

April 22 to 30 

Blossoms. Pansies everywhere. Roses in full bloom in Rose 
garden; glorious. Syringa beautiful. 

Transplanted. Tomatoes and Peppers into full sun of veg- 
etable garden. 

Thinned out Asters, Zinnias, and Helianthus. 

Perennial Phlox, all white, into east and west borders front 
garden. Sun and shade. (Results excellent in both situations.) 



APRIL LEAVES 95 

Remarks. Planted hedge of Hollyhocks between front and 
back gardens. Full sun. (Although planted several weeks late 
they were very beautiful.) 

Lettuce and Radishes for the table. 

As last year was the first time I attempted to raise Pansies 
from seed, I made careful entries of my operations, and, tabulating 
these, I find the life history of my beautiful blossoms as follows: 

September 15 

Planted. Giant Trimardeau Pansy seed of the following 
varieties: Adonis, light blue; Emperor William, deep blue; Fire 
King, mahogany and gold; Golden Gem, rich yellow; King of 
the Blacks; Lord Beaconsfield, blue-violet; Snow Queen, white 
with yellow eye; Striped, white with purple eyes; Yellow, with 
dark center. 

The seeds were planted in a shallow box, in well-prepared soil, 
the different varieties in separate rows, and kept carefully mois- 
tened and covered with glass until germination had taken place. 

October 15 
Pansies up. Four leaves. 

January 10 

Pansies transplanted into sunny borders. (January 11 to 
15, heaviest snowfall in the history of our city. Pansies unpro- 
tected.) 

April 1 to 8 
Pansies slowly coming into bloom. 

April 15 to June 15 

The same entry was made, "Pansies everywhere," for eight 
consecutive weeks. (They were picked daily by the hundreds 
and this lengthened the time of bloom.) 



96 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

June 21 

Pansies over. Plants thrown out. 

They were planted in the borders next to the Violets, which 
separate the flowers from the lawn, and the colors were so massed 
that when they came into bloom the varieties were distinct. 
The effect was very striking and beautiful. 

For December and Winter bloom it is necessary to germinate 
and carry the seedlings under cover, on account of the heat at 
the time of planting. For this reason it is easier and more satis- 
factory to secure the earlier plantings from the nurserymen. 

From the record it will be seen that I have in my garden book 
a complete garden guide, and am enabled by its help to repeat 
my successes and to avoid my mistakes. I could easily multiply 
instances that would serve to show how this little calendar of my 
weekly garden progress has helped me to gain garden joy. Not 
the least of its pleasant features is that it makes of the garden a 
permanent possession; for is not memory possession ? It is 
easy to recall the beauty and sweetness of the flowers as I turn 
over its almost fragrant leaves. As I read on the April pages, 
"Pansies everywhere," my memory gives me a glowing picture 
of their bright faces and rich colors in the borders and in the 
bowls and vases, which brought joy not only to me, but to many, 
many of my friends. I can see the rhythmic beauty of my Pansy 
color scale, with its snowy masses of white melting into the deli- 
cate blues, which again darkened into the deeper tones. I 
remember the golden glories of the yellow blending with the rich 
harmonies of the mauves, turning again into violets and reds and 
blacks and, whether in the garden or in the rooms, always and 
everywhere fragrant and beautiful. Ten weeks of such won- 
derful harmony are enough garden joy to balance the mistakes 
and failures of a year. 

"Shirley Poppies" reminds me that never were any flowers 
more enjoyed by a whole town than those grown from one-half 
ounce of seed in the 250 feet of border of the Sumter (S. C.) 
Memorial Park. They were cut daily by hundreds. Little 
children, old men, pretty girls, sturdy boys, charming women, 



APRIL LEAVES 



97 




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THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




WHEN THE SHIRLEY' POPPIES BLOOM 
It is'April in my garden, and in my heart 



APRIL LEAVES 99 

and Negro workmen came to the Memorial Park for Poppies. 
No one was turned away empty handed. 

The flowers went to the schools, they brightened countless 
homes, they graced receptions, they were placed on the altars of 
the churches, they softened the harshness of new-made graves, 
and they gave pleasure to numberless visitors. 

The soil in the park is a very light sandy loam with a clay 
subsoil about three feet underneath. The sand is so porous that 
no water is held in it. In the Spring of 1920, shrubbery beds were 
prepared by digging down to this clay subsoil and removing much 
of the top sand. Then a layer of stable manure, mostly fresh 
because that was all that was available, was placed in the trench 
and the sandy topsoil was replaced. This made as nearly ideal a 
shrubbery foundation as was possible under the circumstances. 

In November the on!)' preparation for the Poppy seed was to 
clear away all grass and weeds and rake the ground smooth. 
This was done in the foreground of an evergreen shrubbery border 
and the seed of mixed Shirley Poppies sown broadcast on November 
15th, the bed being about three feet wide. 

The plants were then left absolutely alone all Winter; they 
were not even weeded or thinned out. Other work on the street 
trees kept the men busy and it was not until the first week of April 
that they came back. Then the Poppy buds were beginning to 
open. Weeds were pulled out of the border but no thinning was 
done. On April 9th a lawn party was given in the park in order 
that the women might see and enjoy the Poppies. 

Many boxes of buds were sent to Augusta with no other 
preparation for shipment than wrapping in waxed paper imme- 
diately after cutting. One friend wrote, "When the box of Poppy 
buds came on Sunday, they were a mystery. On Monday, the 
opening calyxes and unfolding petals were an ecstasy. On Tues- 
day they are the glory of the whole house. I thank you for 
remembering me in so colorful a way." One box sent on Monday 
furnished decorations for a party on Friday and were the wonder 
and admiration of all the guests. 

On June 3rd the plants were pulled up and thrown out, having 
provided eight consecutive weeks of beauty. They were all of 



100 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



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PANSIES AND SPANISH IRIS 
And Roses coming into bloom combine to make April gay in all southern gardens that 

deserve the name 



such dainty, exquisite coloring and the texture was so fine that 
they were like butterflies or fairy flowers in the garden as well 
as in the rooms. 

"Lettuce fine," calls to my mind the long lines of delicate 
green that formed such a beautiful background for my Pansies 
and such a delicious foreground for the luncheon table. 

"Roses glorious," serves to emphasize the fact that Roses are 
always wonderful and that April is essentially the month of Roses 
in the South, as June is in the North and East. Then it is that 
they blossom out in their full Spring fragrance and loveliness. 
White or yellow, crimson or scarlet, clearest and most dainty of 
pinks, or deepest and richest of reds, climbing to the tops of the 
tallest tree or trellises, or blooming a foot or two above the ground, 
wherever and whenever found, the Rose is the queen of the garden 
beauties and best of our garden friends. 



MAY WORK 101 



CHAPTER X 



MAY WORK— FOR FALL GLORY 

THE refreshing showers of April and the balmy skies of May 
bring forth such a riot of blossoms in gardens, fields and 
woods that amateur gardeners are apt to feel content to rest on 
their laurels. With Lilacs, and Spiraeas, and Deutzias lighting 
up the shrubbery border, with bulbs gloriously beautiful in blos- 
som throughout the cooler sections, while in the gardens of the 
South the tall white Oleanders are masses of starry flowers, with 
Crimson Rambler Roses vying with the Star Jasmine to see which 
can be most beautiful, with bright-faced Pansies by the hun- 
dreds in the borders, with Nasturtiums rich and glowing in their 
places, with Sweet Peas delicately beautiful as Orchids in the 
rows, with hedges of Hollyhocks, stately and tall, lending their 
dignity of color and line to the garden picture, it is hard to realize 
that eternal vigilance is the price of a garden, and that May must 
be a busy month if Summer flowers and vegetables are desired. 

The Violets must be looked after, first of all. No matter how 
luxuriantly they are growing, after the season of bloom is over, 
every plant must be taken up, the leaves cut off^ and the roots 
planted in permanent positions about three inches apart. This 
is the only way to grow them successfully. If not separated 
annually they multiply so rapidly that deterioration takes place 
very quickly. Many do not think it necessary to cut the leaves 
when transplanting, and the result is unsightly withered or dead 
leaves on every plant, marring the appearance of the whole garden. 
Planted with the leaves cut, not too closely, the strength of the 
plant goes to form new roots, and when the leaves begin to unfold 
they are fresh and green, and stay so. It is a great deal of trouble 
to take up the Violets every year, separate the roots, and replant, 



102 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

but what do we have in Hte that is worth having, without working 
to gain it ? 

My Violets are planted on the edge of the flower borders, 
separating them from the lawn. I also use them to divide the 
lawn from the driveway and to edge my porch boxes. They 
make a satisfactory evergreen border edging. Blooming from 
October to April, at first not very freely, coming into full beauty 
in December and blossoming by thousands from then until late 
March, I know of no flowers that so well repay a minimum amount 
of thought and care. If it is very cold the leaves may become 
yellow, but the brave little plants seem to flower more freely for 
the touch of Winter. To gardeners who can plant little and 
give that little indifi^erent care, I should say plant a grass plot 
and edge it with Violets. 

Chrysanthemums also must be looked after in May. They, 
like the Violets, do equally well in sun or shade, and well repay 
all care. They should be carefully separated, kept well watered 
and shaded until rooted in the new positions, and then left alone 
until August. By buying a ciozen good plants to start with, and 
adding a few each year, these will so increase that the garden will 
be well supplied with this bravest and best of Autumn flowers. 

A dozen White BonnaflFon, a like number of Alice Byron, six 
each of Major BonnaflFon, and six of Yellow October Frost, with 
twelve Dr. Enguehard, made my May contribution to last 
Autumn's blooms. They were a gorgeous gift to the family and 
to the passersby. They bloomed from October until late frost, 
which did not come until nearly December. In the Spring each 
of these plants was the center of a clump which was separated to 
secure strong, stocky plants for Fall bloom this year. There were 
not less than four in the smallest clumps and as many as ten in 
others. 

Do not mix the colors of the Chrysanthemum plantings. 
Grouping the colors separately gives much finer eff^ects. A long 
border, closely planted, of golden yellow against the gray-green 
of the foliage, masses of white intermingled with the shrubbery, 
glowing crimsons, dainty pinks in beds and borders, deep rich 



MAY WORK 



103 




YUCCA FILAMENTOSA IS WONDERFUL IN MAY 
It is the only member of its family free from dangerously pointed leaves. Otherwise it is 

typical of the genus 



104 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




MAY WORK 105 

maroons, and orange tones as deep as flames, make of the Fall 
gardens pictures of unsurpassed loveliness. 

A plantation of deep rose-pink single hardy Chrysanthemums, 
on each side of the entrance steps of a gray stone State House, 
planted against a background of dark evergreen shrubbery, 
seems, as I recall it, as if a part of the sunset sky had fallen to 
the lawn, so vivid and beautiful was the effect. The hand of 
the Master Artist splashes the colors from His palette in broad 
masses and sweeps of rhythmic harmony of tone. We cannot 
follow a better example, and no flower gives better results from 
such plantings than the hardy Chrysanthemums. 

If your garden scheme rec|uires the planting of narrow borders, 
by using Dahlias with their brilliant colors in the background, 
and cutting and pinching the Chrysanthemums to form masses 
of color on a lower level, borders of rare beauty can be secured. 
May is the last month in which the Summer-flowering perennials 
may be put out. Rudbeckias, or Golden Glow, if planted early 
in May, need only to be thinned out annually to keep them from 
covering the earth. They are desirable because they give a 
wealth of gay blossoms in Midsummer, when flowers are scarce. 
They make a gorgeous yellow background for the white perennial 
Phlox. Growing tall and having rather scraggy stems, they 
should always be placed at the back of the sunny border, for 
they will not grow in the shade. 

Another Fall flower which is excellent for backgrounds is the 
Cosmos. It grows in poor soil, even where there is much sand, 
is hardy and late to bloom, but must have the sun. Sow seed 
where the plants are to flower. I remember well how beautiful were 
the dooryards of a certain mill village last Fall with masses of 
Cosmos planted against the wire poultry netting that fenced in. 
most of the plots. The ugly landscape was really glorified by 
the dainty foliage and bright blossoms of these plants. I had 
not thought them worthy of a place in my Fall garden, but am 
including them hereafter. The new Klondyke Cosmos, with 
dark green foliage and masses of tawny orange flowers, adds a 
brilliant color note to the Fall garden and, if the season is mild 



106 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

blossoms until December. It is fiiie in the garden and gorgeous 
in the living-room of the dwelling. 

Annuals, such as Asters, Zinnias and Salvias, must be placed 
in their permanent positions this month. The more carefully 
the colors are grouped the more satisfactory and attractive the 
garden composition will be. Scarlet Zinnias planted back of 
the Violets, always with rich green foliage, against a background 
of white Phlox, or white Asters against scarlet Salvias, make 
charming combinations. 

Salvia, used sparingly, with groups of shrubbery to break 
the color line, is beautiful and satisfactory. With the soft greens 
ot the lawn in front, the dark evergreen shrubbery in the back- 
ground, with only white flowers against its vivid masses of glowing 
red, the picture is all that could be desired. When planted along 
the lines of the house or framing the porch, in the porch boxes, 
massed against dark green of the English or Algerian Ivy that 
is so often used to cover the foundation stones of buildings or 
walls, the effect is charming — the trouble is that it is used in this 
way by so many. But Salvia and Cannas are our most abused 
plants. How often we see beds, cut round or square, or star- 
shape, or even in a Maltese cross, filled with these two plants in 
the midst of a beautiful stretch of lawn ? No matter how beauti- 
ful the blossoms of this or any other flowers are individually, it 
is never good taste to use them in this way. They attract atten- 
tion surely, but do they not make a high light that is too strong 
for the rest of the garden picture ? Keep to the borders and not 
only will the effects be more pleasing, but you can also have the 
satisfaction of knowing that it is more artistic and according to 
all the canons of good taste in planting. The composition of 
the garden should be as carefully thought out as the composition of 
any artist's canvas, with true regard for light and shadow, color 
and line, background and foreground, and while there must be 
high lights as well as deep tones, the whole must be at the final 
judging a picture that never jars. 



MAY WORK 



107 




108 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




DAISIES ARE BEAUTIFUL. WHETHER WILD OR TAME 
They are common in fields all over the South, but the cultivated Shasta Daisy is particularly 
good in the perennial border 



TAKING STOCK OF THE GARDEN 109 



CHAPTER XI 



TAKING STOCK OF THE GARDEN— UNDER JUNE'S SUNNY 

SKIES 

THK other day I asked (jne of my garden-making friends what 
she did in her garden in June, and, being somewhat of an 
epicure, after thinking hard for a minute or two, her answer was: 
"Why, I just eat figs." Writing this in the shade of my own 
Fig tree, where the shadows from the thick, green leaves fall 
soft and cool and, remembering the delicious sweetness and 
delicate flavor of the figs that grow in our southern gardens, I 
think I should like to follow her example. But this is too often 
what we do: Sit with folded hands and enjoy the fragrance and 
beauty of the Spring shrubs and flowers and fruits and watch 
them quietly fade away, and then wonder why there are no blos- 
soms later in the Summer. It is largely upon the June work 
that the blossoming glory of the Midsummer garden depends. 

June should be the stock-taking month. There is no time 
for rest or hesitation now. The first thing to be done is to get 
through with the clearing of the borders. Bulbs of Narcissus, 
Snowdrops, Roman Hyacinths, Daffodils and Jonquils seem to 
grow and multiply better if left in the borders where they have 
been placed. Tulips, Crocuses, the double Hyacinths, and all 
the finer bulbs must be left in the ground until fully matured, 
which is indicated by the decay of the leaves, and as soon as these 
have turned yellow and fallen off the bulbs must be taken up 
and stored in a dry place until it is time to replant them in the 
Fall. 

After the crop of flowers is over, the deciduous shrubs should 
be cut back, in order that the new wood, on which the blossoms 



no 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




JUNE OPENS THE TRUSSES OF THE PERENNIAL PHLOX 
This flower is well called the Queen of the southern Summer garden 



of the next year will come, may put forth in abundance. The 
symmetry of the specimens may also be improved by the use of 
the clippers at this time — but be careful not to cut too much. 
The Cydonias, Deutzias, Philadelphius, Jasminums, Spiraeas, 
Viburnums, Syringas, Punicas, Forsythias, Weigelas and Hy- 
drangeas and the Spring blossoming vines, like the Wistarias 
and Jasmines, should all receive careful attention. None of them 
should be touched until the blooming season is over. For most 
of these June is the right month, but some of the later-blooming 
ones had better be left until July. The broad-leaved evergreens 
I never prune at all, except to take off the dead branches after 
a trying Winter, and possibly to remove some of the lower shoots 
for the sake of neatness. 

By the end of June the Sweet Peas will be over and the trel- 
lises must be removed and carefully put away until another year 
rolls around. The long lines left vacant, when the Pansies are 
thrown out, the places where the Poppies glorified the border 
and where the Sweet Peas blossomed for so many weeks, are 



TAKING STOCK OF THE GARDEN III 

filled with Verbenas, Snapdragons, Mignonette, Zinnias, Asters, 
Ageratum, and Salvias. June is very late to do this transplant- 
ing, but if it is done in the late afternoon after a rain and the 
plants are trimmed before planting and shaded during the noon 
hours for a day or two, the chances are that most of them will 
thrive. This is the time when the thinning-out process serves 
the gardener in good stead. There are sure to be parts of the 
borders where the plants are as thick as peas and other places 
where the seed has forgotten to germinate. All these spots 
should be evened out. Now is the accepted time. 

Because the garden is a blaze of glory with Helianthus, Sweet 
Williams, Zinnias, Hollyhocks, Petunias, Nasturtiums, and all 
the other blossoms in full beauty, is all the more reason why you 
should plan to keep it so, and not only planning, but everlastingly 
keeping at it, is necessary to accomplish this. If the bare spots 









-Z'i- . ■ ... '-, 



"'M->:7^iirMW: 



A MOST EFFECTIVE SUMMER-FLOWERING HEDGE 
Is Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. Its snowy blossoms last for many weeks 



|]2 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




TAKING STOCK OF THE GARDEN 113 

are filled in, the crowded places thinned out, the colors changed 
or arranged so that they do not clash, a garden of Midsummer 
loveliness will be the reward. 

Except in the old southern gardens where the Oleanders 
(Neriums), the Pomegranate blossoms (Punicas), and the Sum- 
mer Lilies make Summer gay, the usual rule is that after the June 
blossoms are over, there is no more bloom until Fall, except the 
masses of the Hydrangeas, the Cannas, or sporadic perennials. 
This is all wrong, and June stock taking will remedy this fault. 
The wonderful beauty of the Spring blossoms should not cause 
us to forget that judicious planning and planting will make our 
southern gardens beautiful for twelve months every year. 

The numerous annuals, if kept well cut, will give bloom until 
frost. If the perennial Phlox is planted in mass and in abundance 
the garden will be fragrant and beautiful through all the trying 
heat of the Summer days. If the Asters, Zinnias, Salvias and 
Coleus are planted in proper proportion, the borders will be rich 
and colorful from June until Autumn is over. Now, now is the 
time to fill up the barren spots. I cannot reiterate this too often. 

A June inheritance of my garden, that has given pleasure and 
beauty for a half century, is Hydrangea grandiflora, which, with 
its masses of blue and pink loveliness, has framed the lines of our 
front porch for all these years. For immediate effect, for terrace 
and porch decorations or for masses anywhere, this and the 
Neriums may be purchased in tubs and used during the Summer 
and placed in permanent positions in the Fall. H. g. monstrosa^ 
H. g. Otaksa, and other pink varieties of Hydrangea grandiflora 
are more attractive to me than the white kinds. The use of 
small lumps of alum around the roots of the pink varieties will 
cause them to show heads of clear, beautiful blue blossoms. Salts 
of iron changes the blue to pink. A little pruning, after the 
Winter is over, to get rid of the dead branches, much fertilizer in 
the Spring and Fall, and sunshine and rain will do the rest. They 
prefer a well-drained, partially shaded situation and do well in a 
northern exposure. 

The glory of my June garden is a stately white Oleander or 
Nerium, which has been a joy for many months each year, for 



114 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

at least one hundred years. It was planted by my great-grand- 
mother and its fragrant clusters of starry white blossoms are as 
invariably a part of our garden picture as the Summer itself. 
Annually I thank the dear old lady, whom I never saw, for this, 
my heritage. 

For many years it was absolutely neglected, but bravely and 
proudly it held up its head, and now repays the extra feeding of 
manure in the Fall and fertilizer in the Spring, by a prodigal 
munificence of bloom. It must be seen to be appreciated. At 
least fifteen feet tall and with a spread of eighteen feet in its 
branches, with every stem topped by one or a dozen clusters of 
white blossoms, with the sharp lanceolate leaves of every shade 
of green, with the black branches strongly outlined against the 
soft greens of the lawn in the foreground, it is a June poem. Some- 
times it is a January poem, with the snow wreaths from the skies 
enfolding its evergreen loveliness. 

All of the plants of this species grow in luxuriance and are 
perfectly hardy in this latitude. From the coast of South Car- 
olina to the borders of the Gulf in Texas they are to be found in 
every garden of the olden days, and the greater the age, the greater 
the beauty with which they bless the world. No southern garden 
of this later day should be without them. They grow slowly at 
first, but are well worth while at any age. In both light and dark 
pinks, in single and double, they are very desirable additions to 
our garden and the northern greenhouse plants. I find the single 
white hardier than the pink varieties, and more satisfactory both 
in point of growth and abundance of flower. Beginning to bloom 
in May, in full glory in June and July, they lift their snowy masses 
skyward, dimly beautiful in the starlight, radiant in the moon- 
light, and glorious in the sunlight, until the chill of October brings 
the message that Autumn has come and Winter is not far away. 



JULY PLANNING 



115 



CHAPTER XII 



JULY PLANNING— FOR PERMANENT EFFECTS 

JULY is the best month in the year for the studying of garden 
effects. It is the time of all times to note what has been 
done; to realize what can be done and to plan for what shall be 
done. If the garden is bare of shrubs that bloom in Midsummer 
make notes now of those that can be put in after frost, that will 
add their July quota to the glory of the garden picture in after 
years. 

In the fierce heat of Midsummer days how refreshing it is to 
note the cool depths of shade under the Laurels, to glimpse the 
beautiful clusters of white and pink blossoms of Neriums and 




GOOD FOUNDATION PLANTINGS-WHILE THEY LAST 
These annual Vincas and Cannas look good now, but they leave the ground bare from Fall 

until late Spring 



r/ 



116 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




JULY PLANNING 117 

Lagerstniemias that grow in so many southern gardens and 
deserve to be grown in all. Another evergreen shrub that con- 
tributes fragrant white blossoms to the calendar for July and 
August and on into September is the Gardenia — Gardenia jas- 
minoides florida a.ndG. jasminoides Fortu7jei — the latter with fewer 
blossoms of finer size and more double than the former but both 
very satisfactory. The Gardenias and Neriums with Abelia 
grandiflora, that charming shrub of lower growth and smaller 
flowers than the other two, but equally desirable for all other 
reasons, make a trilogy of sweetness and evergreen loveliness 
that no garden should be without. 

Next in order of consideration will be the Lagerstroemias, 
L. indica alba, L. i. rosea, and L. i. rubra, which are nearly ever- 
green and wonderfully beautiful. Whether small shrubs or 
almost trees they are always effective. A hedge of the white is 
particularly fine, the panicles being as useful for cutting as the 
shrubs are for landscape effects. The Althxa Jriitex, if the new 
and clear-colored varieties are chosen, gives charming results as 
a flowering hedge or when planted in mass in the shrubbery border 
or where a Summer screen is needed. The old purplish-pink 
kinds are never good. Not often enough do we see the broad 
Oak-leaved Hydrangea querciJoHa, with its immense panicles of 
creamy white blossoms. They are very hardy and easy to grow, 
asking only a partially shaded and damp situation; also they 
lighten up the dark corners where nothing else will thrive. 

For a Summer blooming hedge in a shaded situation Hydrangea 
paniculata grandiflora can be used with fine results. Close Winter 
pruning is necessary for the finest flowers. 

The golden St. John's Wort, Hypericwn Moserianum, is prac- 
tically an evergreen shrub of low growth and seems to thrive 
equally well in sun and shade. With its bright yellow flowers 
and delicate green leaves it can be counted on for sunshiny effects 
from season to season. 

While you are planning do not fail to enter in your notebook 
those two delightfully fragrant perennials that are truly ever- 
green shrubs in this section, Rosmarinus officinalis and Lavandula 



118 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

vera. They should be founcl in all our gardens as they were in 
those of our grandmothers. 

The joy of my heart in the July days is a blue and white and 
gold border that stretches for sixty feet along the driveway and 
frames the lines of our house in masses of glorious color. The 
background of Rudbeckia (Golden Glow) that rises sheer five feet 
is not yet in bloom, but the nodding heads and saucy faces of the 
dwarf Helianthus in all the shades of yellow furnish the depth of 
tone desired. Against these colonies of rich green and deeper 
yellows, here and there, are masses of white Petunias, fragrant 
and beautiful. 

African Marigolds make brilliant spots of color amidst the 
heavy clusters of snow-white perennial Phlox. Dwarf Zinnias, 
in yellow and white, and giant Zinnias, in yellow, orange and 
canary, finish out the warm side of the scale. Masses of feathery 
white Ageratum, a long border of dainty white Alyssum, nodding 
spikes of a colony of blue Larkspurs, blue Cornflowers, azure as 
the sky, and perennial Salvia, deep as the blue of the deepest 
seas, and in front of the whole long row an edging of rich dark 
green Violet leaves, is the planting. 

When August comes, the Rudbeckia will add its glory and 
give sixty feet of golden glow. September brings the blue and 
white Asters in all their dainty perfection, and October adds the 
gracious Chrysanthemums in yellow and white alone. For four 
months, at least, this planting will be worth while, needing only 
to have the dead branches of the Helianthus removed and the 
flowers cut promptly to insure a wealth of bloom continuously. 

For the Winter bloom there are the Russian Violets from 
December to May. The Narcissi and Roman Hyacinths come 
in January and February, while Snowdrops, Daffodils and Jonquils 
carry the color scale over into March. Then come the blue and 
white Hyacinths, the Irises, in white, and yellow, and kingly blues, 
with snowy Candytuft, and Alyssum saxatile for the touch of 
gold in the Springtime bloom. 

If this border in my garden were situated so that it would 
receive the morning sun I woukl add the white, and yellow, and 
blue of the Pansies, and mingle with them those loveliest of new 



JULY PLANNING 



119 




THE WILD CACTUS (OPUNTIA) OF MEADOWS AND WOODLOTS 
In the garden, too, its yellow blooms are attractive in July. It strikes a tropical note in 

any scene 



JJ 



120 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




JULY PLANNING 



121 




NERIUMS SHOULD BE IN BLOOM IN JULY 

Cold Winters frequently injure them, but against a well-kept hedge as shown here, they are 

protected and attractive. Closer planting would be better 



garden children, the flowers of Jlola cornuta. These blossoms 
have the colors of the Pansy and the fragrance of the Violet and 
bloom from month to month. Then each returning season would 
have its quota of blossom and my continental border would 
delight with its sweetness and bless with its brightness for twelve 
months every year. 

Surely the old gardens of Colonial days must have had such 
borders in them, for the regimental colors are to be seen in full 
splendor. White of the snowflakes, the sea foam, the moonlight; 
blue of the starshine, the sea depths and the Summer skies; gold 
of the sunlight, the fruit-laden Orange groves, the ripening Wheat 
fields, and precious metal of the mines — these are the pictures 
this part of my garden calls to mind. 

For the benefit of those who may care to make such a border 
in their own gardens, I append a summary of the plantings for 
the Blue, White and Gold Border: 

White Flowers. Spanish Iris, British Queen, La Tendresse; 



122 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Roman Hyacinths; white Dutch Hyacinths; Narcissus, Paper- 
white grandiflora, White Pearl; hardy Phlox, Mrs. Jenkins, Jeanne 
d'Arc; White Bonnaffon Chrysanthemum; Arabis alpina\ early 
and late-branching Asters; White Pearl Petunias; Ageratum; 
Sweet Alyssum; Pansy, White Queen; Viola corniita, White 
Perfection; giant white Antirrhinums; Iberis sempervirens. 

Yellow Flowers. Spanish Iris, Belle Chinoise, Chrysolotaji 
Daffodils, Emperor, Empress, Trumpet Major, Van Sion; Jonquils'i'^ 
Campernelle; Alyssum saxatile; Yellow October Frost Chrysan- 
themums; Rudbeckias; dwarf Helianthus, all shades of yellow; 
giant Zinnias, yellow, orange, canary; dwarf large-flowering 
Zinnias, yellow; African Marigolds; Viola cornuta, V. lutea 
splendens; Pansy, Golden Queen; giant yellow Antirrhinums; 
Aquilegia chrysantha. 

Blue Flowers. Spanish Iris, King of the Blues, Louise; early 
blue Roman Hyacinths; single blue Dutch Hyacinths; Russian 
Violets; Ageratum; Centaureas, light and dark blues; Asters; 
annual Larkspurs; Delphininums; Veronica; Aquilegia ccerulea; 
Pansies, Adonis, Lord Beaconsfield, Prince Henry, Emperor 
William; Viola cornuta^ Blue Perfection; Salvia patens. 




FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER PESTS 123 



CHAPTER XIII 



FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER PESTS 

WHEN one has achieved the glory of the Midsummer Phlox; 
when Crape Myrtles, mist-crowned in white, vie in loveli- 
ness with the rose-colored, like the sky at dawn, or the deeper 
sunset tinted; when starry Oleanders lift their snowy beauty 
by the side of Althaeas that are blooming everywhere; when 
Abelias, dainty as Arbutus blooms and Buddleias like the Lilacs 
of Springtime, are showing on every side, it would seem that the 
rime had come when all that one needs to do is just to enjoy the 
garcien. 

There are Banana trees and Caladiums lending their tropical 
luxuriance to the scene; there are glorious Gladioli; there are 
masses of Cannas, deep crimsons, clear yellows, dainty primrose 
and soft pink; there are Cacti here and Daisies there; there are 
annuals in full bloom on all sides, and we prepare to sit and rest 
in the midst of all the sweetness and beauty, when the heat of 
the midday sun has passed and the long shadows begin to fall 
on the lawn. Earlier in the day it is comfortable only in the shelter 
of the broad, deep-shaded porches and in the sun-excluded rooms, 
from which all unnecessary articles have been removed. 

We think, "Summer in the South is delightful, even though 
it is warm." This is our Midsummer night's dream. Lo, when 
morning comes we discover a blight on the Maples, spots show 
on the Poplar's leaves, caterpillars crawl on the Cannas, black 
rot forms on the Phlox, white flies appear in clouds on the Privets 
and broad-leaved evergreens and the joy in our gardens is turned 
in an instant into the fiercest kind of war. Our state of pre- 
paredness being far from equal to the occasion we are almost 



124 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




Bamboo fittingly used In a Georgia garden 



defeated before we begin the fight. War to the death, however, 
no quarter asked nor given, it must be. 

After a beautiful vacation last Summer, just when it seemed 
as if it were going to be possible to sit down quietly and get some 
writing and drawing done, the call to arms came and for twelve 
consecutive weeks, between June and October, it was a daily 
fight against every insect and fungus pest known to the flora of 
the South — or so it seemed to be. 

It was necessary to arise at dawn, get the mixture ready and 
spray, and spray, and spray again. In a small garden it is not 
hard to keep ahead of the enemy, but usually there is a lack of 
appliances which makes the work doubly hard and, truth to tell, 
it is not easy when done with the best of help, with the most 
carefully prepared mixtures, and the best spray pumps. Hard 
or easy, it must be done. 

For several years each recurring Spring in the South brought 
a very excessive and prolonged drought. This was followed by 
a season of tropical rains, making the climatic conditions almost 
those of two distinct, main seasons: a rainy one and a dry one. 
The vegetation, stunted by the long, dry spell, began to grow 



FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER PESTS 125 

rampantly and soon exceeded its strength which had been ex- 
hausted by the long drought. The inevitable mildew, black rot, 
rust, and other fungous growths appeared. For these Bordeaux 
mixture, used in the proportion of one gallon to sixty gallons of 
water, is the standard remedy. This spraying must be done 
when the sun is off the plants. 

In all such garden warfare, choose either the early morning 
hours before the sun is up, or the period after sunset and into the 
long twilight, which is not so comfortable and convenient a time 
as early morning but is much better for the plants. When the 
fungus appears it is too late to save the tree or shrub on which 
it shows, but if immediate steps are taken and the spray is used 
on all the other members of the family it is possible to save nine- 
tenths of them. When the Poplars showed rust last Summer 
spraying was begun at once, repeated in four weeks and a third 
time four weeks later. Only two trees were lost out of a very 
large number treated. 

When the dry spells of the late Spring are succeeded by days 
of Summer heat and the nights are still cool, the Rambler Roses 
and Wichuraiana hybrids all show mildew. This Spring they 
have been very badly infected. Flowers of sulphur is the stand- 
ard remedy used with a dry duster early in the morning when the 
dew is on the vines. Often, however, this does not have the 
desired effect and we must resort to the second strength Bordeaux 
mixture. Spray with it as soon as possible after the blooming 
season is over. Wait a few weeks and spray a second time; if 
necessary, do it again after four more weeks have passed. Should 
these remedies fail there is nothing to do but to cut off the in- 
fected canes and burn them. This is a good thing to cio in the 
beginning if the vines are very badly infected. If not, take off 
only the weak stock. This pruning will enable the plants to gain 
their Summer's growth and make the wood on which the next 
year's blooms will come. If the cutting is very severe the blos- 
soms will not be so abundant. For this reason the other remedies 
may be used first. 

With all other types of Roses there are little disease and few 
insects that need to be fought. An occasional bath of soapy 



126 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

water, a strong spraying from the hose, often will keep the aphids 
controlled, and potassium sulphide and arsenate of lead will do 
the rest applied as needed in season. 

The remedies used in other sections will give relief in most 
cases of insects and fungous pests, but the most dreaded and the 
most insidious of our Summer insect enemies is that one, par- 
ticularly ubiquitous in the regions of the citrus plants, the white 
fly. Lime-sulphur solution applied in the Winter months is an 
excellent preventive of disease, but when torrential rains of July 
and August are daily occurrences, followed by blistering heat 
in the afternoon and cool winds at night, these adjuncts to our 
gardens appear like the far-famed locust plagues of Palestine. 
If the season is equable and not out of the ordinary they are 
never seen. 

Without warning they appear in clouds on the Amoor River 
Privet hedges and before one knows it they are all over the world. 
Gnats, gnats, gnats! All the beautiful broad-leaved evergreens 
will be covered with white spots and after a day or two the leaves 
will fall to the ground. Absolutely all the vitality of the leaf 
has gone to supply the needs of the newly hatched larvae pro- 
duced by the whitish spots which prove to be eggs. The stems 
and bark of the shrubs will also be infected and will appear as 
if covered with a scale, much in appearance like the San 
Jose scale. They are an abomination and a desolation. How 
we hate them! How we dread them! How we hope they will 
not show themselves this Summer! 

There are several remedies: Lime-sulphur used in the pro- 
portion of one part to 25 gallons of water, which is very strong 
and liable to injure the plants — but, if you do not use it they are 
gone anyway, so what is the difference ? For small places whale 
oil soap, \yi ounces to a gallon of water, is very good. Several 
specific remedies selling for 75 cents a gallon and used \}4 gallons 
to 100 gallons of water are by far the cheapest and most' reliable 
destroyers. These sprays will destroy them root and branch — 
that is, wings and feet — and nothing else will. 

Think what work it entails to go over whole Orange groves, 
to spray thousands of feet of hedges, to spray hundreds of yards 



FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER PESTS 



127 





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MIDSUMMER IN THEjAUTHOR'S GARDEN 



128 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

of shrubbery borders, and remember that all the spraying must 
be done when the sun is not shining on the plants. Do you 
wonder that the workmen — and workwomen — dread the appear- 
ance of the iniquitous white fly ? There must be a first applica- 
tion, then a waiting time of three weeks and then a second spray, 
and so on until three or four applications have been made with 
the waiting spaces between. 

Are not these enough ? They are not all, never fear — 
there are still others. After the Roses, and Poplars, and Privets, 
and evergreens have been treated, what should we discover but 
a new kind of scale altogether. This time it was the oyster shell 
scale on Taumrix plumosa. The same insecticide as that for 
white flies might have done the work, but kerosene emulsion was 
used and only two applications were necessary to clean the one 
infected shrub and to keep the pest off the other plants. 

Surely this was enough for one Summer, not to mention the 
tribe of aphids which are ubiquitous. No, the end was not yet. 
In a single day every leaf was stripped from three Poplars, two 
Privets and one Spiraea. While away fighting the enemy in the 
gardens of my friends the hungry caterpillar was at his deadly 
work. His name was legion. An early start, a carefully pre- 
pared breakfast food of arsenate of lead spread in front of his 
wandering feet was sufficient unto his death and that of all his 
tribe. 

When the leaf-curl appeared it became a question of lime- 
sulphur again and although the foliage was spotted and the smell 
was anything but attractive this dosage was applied in second 
strength. 

This sanguinary history of one Summer's fight was succeeded 
by a very much tired-out feeling at the season's end. Do you 
wonder ? You will also see the wisdom of cutting out a spraying 
table and pasting it in your Gardener's Calendar. The instruc- 
tions given in any standard table include mixtures and quantities 
of sprays for all kinds of insects, fungi and pests. This table 
should have a prominent place in the garden preparations, not 
only for the Summer, but for all the year. To adapt this table 
to southern conditions, it is necessary only to antedate the work 



FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER PESTS 



129 




130 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

by six or eight weeks. Usually all the garden instructions are 
based on the latitude of New York, which is the Greenwich 
meridian of garden calendars. 

The only insect not thus given in the proper valuation for his 
southern connections is the exclusive white fly. This chapter 
covers his work and extinction. 

While studying about these variously inclined enemies it 
occurred to me that our great-grandmothers and grandmothers 
must have made their gardens without having to take all the 
precaution we do to insure bloom and leaf and fruit. Immedi- 
ately search was made in the old books in the library. 

In Prince's Manual of Roses, issued in 1846, it says: "Even 
the Rose has its enemies and these enemies, although of the most 
contemptible description, are extremely pernicious in their habits, 
until their efforts have been thwarted." Certainly we will all 
agree with him on this. He says that the green fly may be 
destroyed by syringing the plants with tobacco water, that the 
slug is much complained of in New England, and that the rose 
bug or beetle must be picked off by hand and destroyed. For 
mildew syringing the plants with sulphur water is suggested. 

In William Cobbett's American Gardener, published in 1819, 
we are told: "Diseases of trees are various of their kinds but nine 
times out of ten they proceed from the root. Insects are much 
more frequently an effect than a cause. The best and perhaps 
the only remedy against the species of disease of which they are 
the symptoms, consists of good plants, good planting, good till- 
age." This sounds as familiar as if it were printed in a current 
magazine instead of in a book 100 years old. 

The striking point of interest in the "Ladies' Companion to 
the Flower Garden," written by Mrs. Loudon and edited by 
A. J. Downing, is in the fact that there is no reference to insects 
or insecticides. W'ould it not be fine if "lady's gardens" in these 
brave days were as tree from such infection as one would like to 
believe they were seventy-five years ago r 

The one volume written for the South is unique because the 
others all state distinctly that the tables and planting lists are 
given for the latitude of New York — even as now. In this com- 



FIGHTING THE MIDSUMMER I'ESTS 131 

pendium of garden suggestions for the southern planter issued 
in 1842, the author, Francis S. Holmes, says that he realizes 
that all the books and instructions are written for other sections 
where climatic differences are so great as to make the major por- 
tion of their directions of no value. That Mr. Holmes convinced 
the Horticultural Society of Charleston of the truth of his prem- 
ises is evidenced by their letter of commendation in the preface. 
His suggestions as to the use of the berries of Melia Azedarach, 
Pride of India or China Berry Trees, as they are so commonly 
called, are corporate in the garden lore of the South. 

The remedy for green cabbage worm, plant lice, etc., is as 
follows: Take a half bushel of Pride of India berries, well ripened, 
put them in a barrel and add 15 gallons of water. After the 
mixture has stood for two or three days sprinkle the plants with 
it and in most cases it will prevent the depredations of these 
insects. 

The negroes use a "bed of berries" around their fruit trees 
and Cabbages and in their vegetable gardens to prevent worms 
in fruit and cutworms and black grub. Some of our best gar- 
deners also follow them in the use of this simple insecticide which 
has the advantage of being easy to procure, easier to apply and 
costing nothing except the labor ot gathering. 

All these garden stories ot the old days would seem to imply 
that there were the same old gardens, the same old pests, the 
same fresh beauties, the same rich joys. The work of spraying 
is so largely overbalanced by the garden joy that it does not 
enter into our calculations at all. The destruction of insects 
and fungi, the taking of preventive measures against the ravages 
of scale and other blights, is just a part of the regular routine 
work and that some of these operations have to be carried on 
during Midsummer heat is our misfortune, not our fault. Go 
at it with a will, stick to it with determination, and before you 
know it the work will be done, and you will feel as proud of your 
achievement as if you had won a victory on a more ambitious field. 



132 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




Artemisia lactifolia effectively used in the garden of whicfi another view is shown 
on page 1 16 




A "close-up" of the striking, fluffy foliage that marks the curve in the pathway 
ONE OF THE SHOWIEST PERENNIALS FOR MASSING 



DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS 133 



CHAPTER XIV 



DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS— WHEN TO PLANT THEM 

FROM the long list of perennials given in the catalogues of 
the nurserymen and by the writers of garden books for 
other sections, it seems hard that we who make gardens in the 
South should have our list of desirable and dependable perennials 
reduced to a mere baker's dozen, but this is a true statement of 
the case — not only of my case, but of that of many of my garden- 
loving friends who have been beguiled by the pictures and stories 
in the above-mentioned books and also by their memories of the 
beautiful gardens of the East. 

Many trials, in every possible situation and under every 
known condition, much wasted energy and money, have con- 
vinced me that in order to grow perennials successfully in the 
South it is necessary to have southern-raised plants. 

FALL PLANTINGS 

It is rather an easy matter to grow perennials Irom the seed. 
One September I planted the seed of Aquilegia (Columbine), 
Gaillardia, Hollyhocks, Phlox paniculata, Dianthus barbatus 
(Sweet William), Dianthus plumarius (the Scotch hardy Pink), 
and Oriental and Iceland Poppies, in rows in the borders on the 
west side of my garden. The situation is sheltered but sunny. 
The seed germinated promptly and the plants were left in these 
positions and unprotected until large enough to be transplanted, 
which in most cases was not until February and March. In 
colder sections it is necessary to protect these seedlings. The 
Poppies needed only to be thinned out, the seed having been 
sown in the parts of the borders where they were to bloom. 



134 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

The primary cost of the seed was about one dollar and fifty 
cents, and, from the planting, the garden was richer by at least 
one hundred hardy Phlox, dozens of Columbine plants, Gaillardias 
by the score, a rich and beautiful bed of Poppies, rows of stately 
Hollyhocks, velvety Sweet Williams for both sunny and shady 
spots, and fragrant Clove Pinks that shone star-like against their 
carpet of gray-green leaves and scented the whole Springtime 
with their sweetness. 

The Columbines were not satisfactory from this planting tor 
the first year. The second Spring saw them in varied tones, 
Aquilegia carulea, a heavenly blue, A. chrysantha^ clearest of 
primrose yellows, a pure white, and the typical deep blue A. 
vulgaris. They proved to be not only perennial, but evergreen, 
and the dainty loveliness of the plants at blossoming time hardly 
exceeds the delicate beauty of the finely cut foliage of soft blue 
green that lasts all the year. 

The Hollyhocks in a sandy soil and sunny situation are all 
that can be desired. They bloom from early Spring until late 
Summer and always give dignity and grace to the borders and 
brightness and color to the garden picture. No garden can have 
too many Hollyhocks, provided they are kept as part of the back- 
ground. 

No words of praise can be too strong for the description of 
the beauty, grace and reliability of the hardy Phlox. Of all the 
perennials, whether raised from seed or planted from nursery 
stock, it is my favorite because of these characteristics. Through 
neglect and drought, through carelessness and flood, the Phlox 
blooms bravely on, always graceful, always fragrant, and to me 
its panicles are the gracious queens that crown our Summer gar- 
dens. Elizabeth Campbell and others of clear salmon pink 
and deep crimson and maroon are very desirable and beautiful 
when first planted. After a few years, however, they lose their 
clarity of tone and must be replanted if the garden color scheme 
is to be kept true to scale. From the seed sown in September I have 
secured several desirable varieties, but my best-loved ones are 
the white, Jeanne d'Arc and Mrs. Jenkins, and the Beranger^ 



DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS 



135 




136 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




CANNAS USED TO GOOD EFFECT IN CALIFORNIA 
Yet any southern garden could have just as attractive a planting as this with all its August 

glory 



which is white suffused with rosy pink with a deeper pink center. 
I plant these "en masse" and never tire of their beauty. Blossoms 
from the seedlings of that sowing have given four months or more 
of bloom for many succeeding Summers. There were just a 
few of the seedlings that showed the magenta pink that seems 
to be typical of the old-fashioned hardy Phlox. These had to 
be dug up and thrown away, for that muddy mixture of pink 
and blue and violet that is named magenta will "queer" a whole 
garden quicker than any other color in the scale. Watch out 
for it, and if your garden shows it in Petunias, Zinnias or Phlox, 
root it out, being sure that, if you are minus that quantity in the 
color scheme, your garden equation will resolve itself into a picture 
that will make glad an artist's eye and heart. 

The Gaillardias are most satisfactory. The gray-green leaves 
adorn the borders from season to season and the gay blossoms of 
orange and scarlet, and yellow, that is as rich as gold, are to be 
had for the cutting continuously from early in April until Mid- 



DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS 137 

summer. Close cutting of the flower stalks Is necessary to gain 
this result, but for both the flowers in the border and for vases 
in the rooms they are very desirable and not usually seen in the 
South. 

SPRING PLANTINGS OF EARLY PERENNIALS 

Unquestionably April is the most beautiful month of the year 
in this section. Then it is that the Spring-blossoming shrubs 
are in full flower, the bulbs are still glorious, Darwin Tulips, Iris 
and Lilies show all their exquisite loveliness. The Dogwoods 
star the roadsides, woodlands and gardens, the drooping racemes 
of the Wistaria hang from every trellis, screen and porch, and 
golden-hearted Cherokee Roses send out spicy fragrance on the 
soft, balmy air. The blue sky and warm sunshine of noontide 
alternate with the chill of the midnight air, and so this is the 
accepted time for planting the seed of those perennials which 
will not germinate in the heat of the later days. Few southern 
gardeners plant the early perennials which are the one thing lack- 
ing from the radiant glory of our April bloom. All southern 
gardens, where there is room, should know the dainty loveliness 
of the Aquilegias, the soft-hued Campanulas, the stately 
Digitalis, the wonderful colors of the Platycodon, and the 
fairy-like Delphiniums. These flowers are not only well worth 
while in themselves, but they fill the long gap between the Spring 
flowers of the shrubs and bulbs and the blossoms of the annuals 
that do not bloom until later in the Summer. 

All of these perennials are valuable for the shaded situations 
found in every garden and which are usually bare because so few 
things will grow even in half shade. The heavenly blue tones 
found in the Campanulas, Delphiniums, Platycodons and Aqui- 
legias are also unusual in the garden picture. 

Fill the flats as usual, plant the seeds very carefully, and as 
soon as the plants begin to crowd transplant into a shaded corner 
of the garden. Leave them there until the late Fall and then 
place them in permanent positions. For two years at least they 
will repay you for your initial trouble, your careful watching and 
patient waiting. 



138 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

()t the Columbines, AquUc'i'ui cccriilca^ in blue and white, and 
A. hybrida will be found satisfactory. This plant is exceed- 
ingly decorative from the foliage standpoint as well as for the 
blossoms. It cut, the latter will continue tor several months. 

The Japanese Bell Flower, Platycodon grandijlora, in blue 
and white, is charming and effective when combined with 
HcDierocalUs flava, or H. fulva. Campanula carpatica and 
C. pyramidalis, the Chimney Bell Flower, with the Cup and 
Saucer of the Canterbury Bells, give another set ot blue values 
in the garden color scale. These may also be planted in rose 
and white. 

The Foxgloves, Digitalis gloxinixflora^ are wonderful when 
they can be successfully grown. They must have a cool start 
tor seed germination, shade through the Summer months and 
a sheltered position for the Winter. This done, they begin to 
bloom in February and for six weeks are glorious anywhere. 
Planted among the broad-leaved evergreens so generally used 
in the South, they are more effective than when seen in the gar- 
dens of other sections, perhaps because to see them blooming so 
earK' is such a surprise. In these, my favorite colors are the 
rose and white, although the purple is good in some combina- 
tions. Being biennials the Foxgloves must be planted each year. 

Foxgloves are so beautiful! Just the name always brings to 
my mind the picture of a rich and effective garden scene at High- 
land Falls, New York, three Summers ago. Long lines of stately, 
dignified blossoms, rich in color harmonies, stood sentinel-like 
against the dark rich greens of Pine and Fir and Cedar, with soft 
green grass stretching away in the foreground until lost in the 
shadows of the lofty trees that rim the beautiful river at that 
point. Foxgloves against conifers with turf in the foreground: 
an ideal to be striven for. 

In February also the fiower stalks of the perennial Delphin- 
iums, or hardy Larkspurs, begin to lift themselves above the cleanly 
cut leaves. In mid-March the flower buds untold and the blue 
ot the sky is then a part ot the garden glory. No flower shows 
so clear a cerulean blue, so heavenly an azure as does T)el- 
phi)iium Belladonia. A clump of these Delphiniums planted in 



DEPENDABLE PERENNIALS 



139 




140 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

the foreground of the shrubbery border, or in a border of peren- 
nials framed in grass walks, with the clear sun shining through 
the petals of the lifted flower stalks that rise at least two feet 
above the ground, is achievement enough to satisfy the heart of 
a gardener through many weary days. 

Other perennials of easier growth and more widely known than 
those just enumerated are the Candytuft, Iberis sempervirens^ 
the golden Coreopsis lanceolata, for all Summer bloom, and the 
Physostegia virginica, the False Dragonhead. This begins to 
bloom very late in August, and continues steadily until Decem- 
ber. The colors are pink and white and a soft lavender. 

Plant one package of each of the seeds just given, follow care- 
fully the directions, and for each dime that you invest in seed 
you may count on having a harvest of at least one hundredfold 
of joy, beauty and fragrance in your garden. 




OCTOBER GLORIES 141 



CHAPTER XV 



OCTOBER GLORIES— AND OCTOBER WORK 

THEN, if ever, come perfect days," might have been said 
as truly of October on the banks of the Savannah as of 
June on the banks of the Charles. If there is a time of the year 
when the colors of the blossoms seem most gorgeous, when our 
gardens are most attractive, it is the time of the Harvest Moon. 
There is a charm, a witchery, about a garden in the glory of the 
October moonlight that is to be met there in no other month of 
the year. It must be that the chill of the almost-frosty nights, 
that the seeing of the garden-children droop under the tang of 
cold in the air and watching them fade one by one, gives to those 
that are left a supreme wizardry that their more tender brothers 
and sisters did not possess. 

Always the Fall Roses are richer in color and in fragrance, 
finer in every way, than those that queened it in the Spring. 
Never does the Scarlet Sage shine so brightly as when on some 
frosty morning it stands alone — sole survivor of an onslaught 
from Jack Frost. The Phlox holds up its snowy masses to the 
Autumn sun and the glory of the regal Chrysanthemums is only 
another marvel of an October day. 

The beauties that stand amidst impending desolation serve 
to remind us that time presses and Christmas gardens must be 
made now. With good soil, an exposure that greets the morning 
sun. Pansy plants put in the open now will be gloriously beautiful 
in December. I purchase from the nurseries in October my first 
planting of Pansies for Christmas blossoms in the porch boxes 
and borders. The South is so hot in July and August that closer 
attention is required for the seedlings than I have time to give; 



142 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




CHRYSANTHEMUMS-REIGNING FLOWERS OF THE FALL 
Here are pictured two types as grown in the author's garden 



OCTOBER GLORIES 



143 




rt.2 



3 2 



O tr, 



DO jj 



:a: 



- o 

id 



oUJ 



■=H 



144 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

hence my dependence on the florists for the first blossoms — which 
I must have for the love I bear for the unexpectedness of the 
Winter flowers. As to the cultivation of Pansies and Violas in 
the South, Chapter IX, quoting from "April Leaves from my 
Garden Book," covers the subject in detail. 

If you would have green turf that is like a soft rich velvet 
carpet for the Winter, now is the last minute in which you have 
to work. Many southern gardeners spade up the lawn as soon 
as the Summer sun begins to turn it brown, put in fertilizer, and 
sow the seed. The object here is to secure a deep root system 
before the cold weather comes, but, on the other hand, if the 
weather is very dry and hot, the seedlings are apt to burn and 
the best gardeners wait until October to. avoid this probability. 

As much as possible of the work in the border should be done 
before the lawn is dug up and replanted because, if not, there 
must be a constant making over of the parts stepped on, or else 
all plantings must be delayed. 

If the turf is very badly worn, if the lawn needs to be regraded, 
if the drainage is not what it should be, and it must be made over, 
the sooner it is done now, the better results you will have. If 
you have a Bermuda or a Kentucky Blue Grass sod, use bone- 
meal liberally, reseed thickly with the best grade Italian Rye 
Grass seed, sowing in one direction and then across at right angles 
to the first sowing, rake it in carefully, roll it well, or press down 
with a board if the soil has been dug up and the lawn is being 
made anew and no roller is at hand, and in a (ew weeks you will 
marvel at the freshness and beauty of your turt. You will thi?ik 
Springtime has come to your door again. 

For small plots the rolling that comes with the use of the 
lawn mower will be sufficient to make the turf firm and solid, 
but the heavier and oftener the rolling is done the quicker will 
the lawn become like the velvet carpet you are aiming to make 
it. The best gardeners do not dig up the lawn each year; they 
work over the bad spots, root up the weeds, reseed for the Winter 
greenness and each year the turf becomes firmer and more beau- 
tiful. 



OCTOBER GLORIES 145 

Any householder in the South who allows his lawn to become 
brown and stay so all Winter is cheating himself, his family, and 
his neighbors — to say nothing of his section of the country. Noth- 
ing appeals to the tourists from the snowbound sections more 
than our green, mossy lawns and dooryards, when January 
snows have driven them to our more favored clime. Plant, 
then, grass seed and plant it generously. 

As the Summer flowers wither and die, fertilizer should be 
put in, the perennials carefully attended to and the bulbs planted. 
If the lawn does not have to be made over from the beginning 
it is possible to plant the bulbs as the borders are ready for them 
and, in this way, a natural succession of bloom is assured. All 
the standard bulbs, Hyacinths, Narcissi, Daffodils, Crocuses, 
Jonquils, Tulips and Snowdrops, are perfectly hardy in the South 
and may be put out safely until December. It is only when a 
sharp, cold snap comes after the blossoms are showing that dis- 
aster results. This does not often happen. In buying bulbs 
remember that the best are always the cheapest. Plant them 
in masses, as many as you can possibly buy, follow any good 
article on the planting of the same and no mistake or disappoint- 
ment will result. 

When making out your list — which ought to have been done 
in August — do not forget to include the Irises, /. hispanica, those 
orchids of the Spring garden, /. Kaempferi and /. germanica. 
Iris hispanica is not usually seen in the South but all of the group 
are radiantly lovely, easily grown and as well adapted to the 
formal bulb garden as to the naturalized plantings. 

The most wonderfully beautiful Iris planting that I have 
ever seen, however, was where bulbs were planted by the thousand 
on the banks of a small brooklet that made merry music as it 
rippled over the stones from one level to another and sang its 
song of Springtime and Summer as it made its way between these 
lovely flowers of softest lilac, clearest azure, deepest violet, golden 
yellow, silvery white, and softest ivory and creamy tones. One 
associates them with water and if it is possible plant them near 
a pool or pond or brook, but, if not, plant them anywhere, always 



146 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



in sunshiny situations. They are worth while wherever and 
whenever seen. 

October is truly the between-time in our gardens. The bor- 
ders are still filled with blossoms bright and flowers gay, the 
Summer vegetables are not yet over, the seed beds are filled with 
plants waiting to be put out and yet all one can do is to wait. 
Fortunately, the best scheme for the garden maker is the same 
as the best scheme of life: do each day the duty that lies nearest, 
enjoy to the full the beauty and fragrance of each one of the 
passing hours and flowers, and living in the happy present, the 
future will take care of itself. 




A bird's-eye view of Sweet Peas as grown at Bryan, Texas, taken in April. Who says the 
South cannot enjoy Sweet Peas ? 



SWEET PEAS 147 



CHAPTER XVI 



SWEET PEAS— FOR SPRING BLOSSOMING 

'VTO plants in our garden catalogues give more of beauty, more 
-^ ^ of sweetness, more of pleasure in the growing than the 
dainty Sweet Peas. They are impracticable for the small garden, 
however. To be successfully grown they must have a deep rich 
soil, preferably rather heavy, as clay loam, good drainage and 
a sunny situation. They should be planted in November. 

In planting, always have a trench dug about a foot wide and 
nearly that deep. In this put well-decomposed manure, wood 
ashes and soil, thoroughly mixed. Plant the seeds in the bottom 
of a trench which is left, about seven inches deep. Pack the 
earth firmly about them and as soon as they grow to about three 
inches draw the earth up around them; do this two inches at a 
time thereafter, not only until the trench is filled, but until the 
Peas are hilled for several inches. This gives them a very deep 
root system and enables them to stand the southern heat. By 
Christmas the trenches will be nearly full and nearly always at 
Easter the first Sweet Peas are in bloom. 

Those who grow the finest Sweet Peas in this section advise 
Fall planting, but good results may be obtained from sowings 
made as late as January. The latter practice is a little risky, 
however. The newly planted seeds are very much more apt to 
be injured by the cold that usually comes in January and Feb- 
ruary than when the plants are securely rooted as a result of their 
Autumn start. 

For support for Sweet Peas use four-foot chicken wire, with 
two-inch mesh, fastened to stout stakes. I use thirty-foot lengths 
and three stakes are all that are necessary. These stakes are 



148 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




SWEET PEAS 



149 



set in position before the trenches are planted and the seeds are 
sown on both sides of the wire if they are planted in the open 
rows. If it is necessary to put them in a thickly planted border, 
it will be possible to make but one trench. Still the wires are 
almost invisible and the stakes so far apart that they do not look 
unseemly^ and where space is limited and such flowers desired, 
this is decidedly the most artistic and easy thing to do. Against 
a background of evergreen vines that cover a fence, the Sweet 
Pea trellises are not ugly and the Sweet Pea blossoms and vines 
are very attractive and give cut flowers for many weeks. 




THE CHARM OF SWEET PEAS IN THE HOME 

Is no less than their charm in the garden. Fragrance, form, color shadings and dainty 

foliage, all contribute to the effect 



150 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

In planting the Sweet Peas it is much more satisfactory to 
have the different colors planted separately. It facilitates cut- 
ting, they are easier to arrange and far more beautiful in clusters 
of pinks, whites, lilacs, violets and the different shades of red 
and the dainty primrose tones growing in masses of each color 
than if they are indiscriminately mixed. 

One row of thirty feet will give bloom for many vases for 
many weeks if closely cut daily, but if the garden space is limited 
and there is not room enough for a planting of this size, it is well 
to forego the pleasure of growing them at home. 

In the colder sections Spring planting of these flowers is advised, 
the same procedure as that given above being used, only waiting 
until the frost is out of the ground and the latter is in good work- 
ing condition. 

As for varieties, the Orchid-flowered and standard varieties 
give one the choice of daintily curled petals two or three and 
sometimes four on a stem in all the lovely tones and shades and 
the same range of color harmonies in the more even and sym- 
metrical blossoms of the Standards. It is usually a choice that 
runs to the more artistic Spencers, and can one question why ? 




SHRUBS FOR ALL THE YEAR 151 



CHAPTER XVII 



SATISFACTORY DECIDUOUS SHRUBS— FOR ALL THE YEAR 

AS a rule, November is the acceptable time for the planting of 
all deciduous trees and shrubs, but no cut-and-dried formula 
will ever apply to our southern gardens. If your order has to 
be sent to other than a local nurseryman, note on it, "Ship after 
the first hard frost;" then you will be ready at the proper time. 
All the small fruits, as well as the deciduous trees and shrubs, 
should be planted during this month. 

Shrubs are among the most valuable plants that we have. 
They may be planted in groups of varying colors and heights 
and by selecting species that bloom at different times a succes- 
sion of bloom may be secured. They may be used to fill in spaces 
between trees in mass plantings. In this way the canopy ot 
foliage is brought down to the turf. They may be planted under 
the vision line of vistas and they form a beautiful background 
for borders of hardy perennials or annuals. They may be moved 
from place to place if soil and conditions of exposure are not just 
right. They are worth while in the garden, on the large place or 
in the public parkway, always stressing the fact that they must 
be kept in good condition. 

Individual selection, largely a matter of personal preference, 
size of grounds and amount of money to be expended, must all 
be taken into consideration in choosing the shrubs for the beauti- 
fying of the home grounds. Remember that shrubs stand for 
permanent improvements. The first thing to do is to make a 
drawing of the ideal to be achieved, making due allowance for 
habits of growth, time of bloom, and so forth. Decide how 
much can be afforded at this time for the plantings. Then selec- 



J 



152 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

tion may be made. Vacant places may be left for the later ever- 
green plantings or quick-growing shrubs may be put in with the 
intention of cutting them out later when the slower-growing 
evergreens are large enough to cover the desired spaces. 

The list of shrubs which follows gives those which can be 
depended upon for blossoms in season and out of season and 
which will thrive without being an undue tax upon the gardener's 
time. They are all beautiful and desirable. 

The earliest of all the deciduous shrubs to bloom is Jasminiim 
nudiflorum, which comes in January; February brings the For- 
sythias, F. viridissima, F. suspensa, and F. Fortunei, with the 
earliest of the Spiraeas, S. prunifolia ft. pL, commonly called the 
Bridal Wreath; this makes a striking contrast to the brilliant 
blossoms of the flaming Cydonia japonica, or Burning Bush, as 
the Flowering Quince is usually called; and blooming at the same 
time \s, Lonicera fragrantissiina, the fragrant Honeysuckle, which 
is almost evergreen. 

March shows the blossoms of the Spiraeas, S. Reevesiana and 
A'. Rct'vt'siana fi. pi.; the Lilacs, Syringa vulgaris and S. chuiensis^ 
and the Manchurian Honeysuckle, L. Ruprechtiana; with the 
orange balls of Kerria japonica, the Chinese Globe Flower, and 
the white of the same species, Rhodotypos kerrioides. One of 
the most attractive of the March shrubs that is most effective 
for massing with che Spiraeas and Lilacs or with the evergreens 
is the Pearl Bush, Exochorda grandiflora. 

April shows the later Lilacs, Viburnum plicatu?n, or Japanese 
Snowball, old-fashioned flower of our grandmothers' time, but 
always lovely; the Flowering Crab, Pyrus floribunda, and the 
Tartarian Honeysuckle, Loriicera tatarica. Later in the month, 
Spiraea Van Houttei opens to the April breezes and showers its 
petals like drifts of snow as the suns of May come on. Phila- 
delphus coronarius, the Syringa of our mothers' day; the Deutzias, 
D. gracilis^ dwarf, D. crenata, tall, and D. gracilis rosea, and the 
Weigela, Diervilla florida, a most charming shrub with rosy- 
colored flowers that cover its branches from tip to stem and 
make it a most delightful companion for the Deutzias, come 



SHRUBS FOR ALL THE YEAR 



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Sometimes it blossoms even in January 



154 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE ^■EAR 






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SHRUBS FOR ALL THE YEAR 155 

into hlooni in late April and carry their Hewers almost into June. 
This latter shrub grows well in partial shade. 

The Sumac, or Smoke Tree, Rhus Cotinns, is a wonderful 
contribution to the beauty and attractiveness of the shrubbery 
border in May. This, with Jasmine revolutnm, carries us into 
June when the showy Punicas, P. granatum^ P. alba, P. rubra^ 
and P. variegata, the flowering Pomegranates, come into bloom. 
There are" no more showy and brilliant shrubs. The foliage is 
of bright lustrous green, and even in Winter the tracery of the 
reddish brown branches is decorative. When, in the early Spring, 
the Pomegranate puts out its delicate, rosy-tipped leaf buds, 
with almost orange lights in the unfolding leaves, it is a charming 
picture, if seen against a background of dark evergreen shrub- 
bery, like the Neriums or the Laurels. In Midsummer the flame- 
colored blossoms contrast wonderfully with the delicate purity 
of masses of white Oleanders. Never plant the Pomegranates 
near any shrub with pink flowers. 

For Midsummer blossom, Althaeas {Hibiscus syriaciis) are 
most pleasing when planted in groups or as a hedge. Hydrangea 
arborescens grandiflora alba is the earliest to come into bloom 
and lasts almost the entire season. Hydrangea monstrosa and 
H. Otaksa are old favorites and generally known, and H. panic- 
ulata grandiflora deserves a place in every southern garden. 
The Hydrangeas do not mix well with other shrubs and it is best 
to keep them for shady corners and northern exposures where 
sun-loving plants will not thrive. 

The Summer-flowering Spiraeas, ^V. Billardi, S. Bumalda, the 
everblooming S. Bumalda Anthony Waterer, deeper in color than 
S. Douglasii, and S. japonica, give a quintette of pink Spiraeas 
that will furnish bloom for many months. 

The American Elder, Sambucus canadensis, with its flat- 
topped cymes of creamy blossoms, should be planteci much oftener 
than it is. Delightful companions for this planting are the deli- 
cate Fern-leaved Sumacs, Rhus aromatica and R. Michauxi, 
with panicles of creamy flowers in August and September and 
brilliant berries that remain through the Winter. Not the least 
attraction of the Sumacs is the vivid color of the foliage just 



156 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

before it falls in the Autumn. These plantings can be had for 
the digging on almost every roadside in the South. They give 
blossom at seasons when flowers are scarce and in addition have 
delicate foliage of attractive color. They should be planted 
much more than they are. 

Even though it is November and the year is in the sere and 
yellow leaf, we do well to cherish the Summer blossoms that still 
brighten our gardens. My garden book shows that last year 
there were Roses, Zinnias, Salvia and Chrysanthemums for cut- 
ting until late in December. Not just a few, but in quantity, 
although the Winter flowers, Violets and Tea Olive and the 
Laurustinus, were also in bloom. If the garden is still barren 
of bulbs, do not hesitate to put them in. Even late November 
plantings will give you Spring blossoms in rich and fragrant 
luxuriance. It is good to make gardens in the South, for one can 
go to sleep in Summer and wake up in Midwinter and still have 
a Spring garden. But it is the wide-awake gardener who gets 
the earliest flowers, the best of the lot, and the greatest number; 
tor in garden making, as in everything else worth while, diligence 
and perseverance always bring a rich reward. 




SHRUBS FOR ALL THE YEAR 



157 




158 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 



159 




Rosa de Montana or Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) 



CHAPTER XVIII 



VINES— FOR COTTAGE AND FOR MANSION 



"ITROM the multiplicity of vines that may be grown in the 
-^ South, choice would seem to be unlimiteci, but in reality 
there are not a great many on which one can depend for unfailing 
beauty and grace. First among the evergreen vines for founda- 
tion walls of buildings anci terraces, and also for climbing on pil- 
lars and pergolas, nothing is more desirable than the English Ivy, 
Hedera helix. For the same purposes, of a lighter green in color, 
with larger leaves and ranker growth, but much less hardy, is 
the Hedera algeriensis, which is a very beautiful vine coming 
into more and more general use. Of slower growth and suited 
more for covering walls and banks and carpeting the ground 
than for climbing to heights is the climbing Euonymus, Enonymus 
radicans. For a close covering of stone or brick or wooden walls 
the trailing Fig, Fie us re pens, is a most beautiful vine. It clings 



160 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




ROSE VINES ARE NEVER MORE CHARMING THAN ON A PERGOLA TRELLIS 

The plants shown will be more effective as they grow larger. As to the piece of pipe with 

the Palm in the center of the bed— does anyone think it attractive? 



very closely, does not have to be supported or fastened to the 
wall, as do the Hederas and Euonymus, and is very delicate and 
dainty. It makes a thick green mass, of almost the same color. 
Its leaves are very dark green, finely marked, and unless the 
Winter is very severe it is hardy and evergreen in the latitude of 
Augusta. If killed down in the Winter, it very quickly puts out 
in the Spring and grows many feet each season. It is not hardy 
farther north. 

The bristly Greenbrier, Smilax Bona-nox, which is evergreen 
in the South, is one of the most beautiful of the wild vines. It 
is always of a beautiful clear color, the young leaves are of a del- 
icate green and for covering columns and for an evergreen screen 
where a dense growth is required nothing will give more satis- 
faction. 



VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 



161 




YOUNG VINES ON AN OLD HOUSE-BUT YOU'D NEVER KNOW IT 

Who would guess that the English Ivy draping this ancient dwelling — the home of ths 

Augusta (Ga.j Women's Clubs— is not over ten years old? 



162 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




GRACEFUL GARLANDS OF VIRGINIA CREEPER 
The Ampelcpsis quinquefo'.ia drooping from above greatly increases the charm of this portico 



VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 163 

The two most attractiv^e ev^ergreen vines with blossoms for 
southern plantings, are Rhynchospermumjasrninoides, the Malayan 
Jasmine, and Gelsemium sernpervirens, the Carolina Yellow Jas- 
mine, of course, not including the evergreen climbers among the 
Roses, which are mentioned in a preceding chapter. The Rhynchos- 
permum is easily grown and blooms continuously trom April to 
July. It is of rather slow growth, but gains in beauty year by 
year. Its fragrant clusters of starry white blossoms against the 
background of rich, dark green leaves always create a most strik- 
ing picture. 

The Yellow Jasmine is of daintier foliage than the Star Jasmine 
and its blossoming period is shorter, but it is a mass ot golden 
yellow cups of amazing sweetness just about the time that the 
purple tones of the fragrant Wistarias are flung out as heralds 
of the Spring that is to be. These two vines are wonderfully 
beautiful when planted in conjunction with the \Yistarias, tV. 
chinensis and IV. chinensis alba. The Wistaria comes into flower 
before it shows its leafage and needs an evergreen background 
to bring out the full beauty of its racemes of purple and white 
flowers that are usually borne in such rich luxuriance. A per- 
gola planted with Rhynchospermum and either the white or the 
purple W'istaria is a picture that never fails to delight. Masses 
of the purple blossoms hanging from the top of a leafless, weather- 
bleached grey tree trunk with a long reach of green turt in the 
foreground and evergreen shrubbery in the background, was one 
of the finest pictures caught by the camera artist this fleeting 
Spring and cherished thus for a leaf in memory's garden book. 

The Boston Ivy, Ampelopsis Veitchii, and the Virginia Creeper, 
Ampelopsis quinquefolia, are two of the hardy vines that are 
used for covering walls and structures where it is not advisable 
to use evergreen vines. For screening porches on the second 
floor Ampelopsis arborea^ the Pepper Vine, is a handsome climber 
with compound leaves of a beautiful bluish green that climbs 
quickly to great heights. The blossoms are insignificant, but 
very fragrant, and the bees are very fond of them. The berries 
are at first red and finally black, and borne in such quantities 



164 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



that the vines are quite ornamental in the Fall. It is hardy south 
of Virginia and Missouri. 

The Honeysuckles are evergreen in the South and are much 
used for screens and trellises and, in fact, anywhere that a vine 
is to be used. Lonicera japonica is a rampant grower frequently 
used for covering tall screens, and the blue-green leaves of the 
native Woodbine, Lonicera sempervirens, are most attractive 
when trained around the porch pillars where their scarlet blos- 
soms can show in the early Spring. The purple-leaved Chinese 
Honeysuckle, Lonicera chinensis, is also evergreen and not very 
often seen. 

A very showy wild vine that should be more often used is 
the evergreen Trumpet Flower, commonly called the Cross Vine, 
Bignonia crucigera^ which thrives in rich moist soils and quickly 




IVY IS A MOST APPROPRIATE DRAPERY FOR A SUNDIAL 
Here the vine-clad dial stands just beyond the shadow of a Mimosa tree; clipped Amoor 

Privet arches the walk 



VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 



165 



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STAR JASMINE AND CHEROKEE ROSES 
Both are evergreen and wonderfully lovely here. The Jasmine is Rhynochospermum 

jasminoides 



166 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




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VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 167 

climbs to fifty feet or more. It is wonderfully beautiful in the 
woods of Louisiana but is easily naturalized and worthy of garden 
space. This vine should not be contused with the deciduous 
Trumpet Vine, Tecoma radicans, which bears its showy clusters 
of tawny red-orange flowers in Midsummer. The Cross Vine 
has orange-yellow flowers in late Spring and early Summer and 
is a much more vigorous grower than the later American Trumpet 
Vine. 

All the Clematis vines are delicate and beautiful, but the 
easiest to grow, as well as the hardiest, is Clematis panicidata^ 
which is much used for covering trellises and porches anci can 
be relied on for a perennial effect. The large flowering hybrid 
kinds require deep, moist soils, yet the situation must be well- 
drained and the soil porous. In the latitude of Savannah and 
New Orleans and farther South they grow vigorously. In the 
higher altitudes they need to be protected. The annual vines, 
such as the Ipomoeas, the climbing Nasturtiums, the graceful 
and delicate Cypress, the Cardinal Flower, Himndus japonica 
(the hardy and quick-growing Hop), the ornamental Gourds, 
the Dolichos or Hyacinth Bean, both red and white, delicate and 
fragrant in flower and making a thick screen — and many others, 
are valuable, beautiful, and quick climbers. That Jack-and-the- 
Beanstalk Vine, the Kudzu, is, perhaps, almost of too rank a 
growth to be recommended. 

However, the main point is, plant vines and cover up the 
fences, screen the ugly views and keep them screened and out of 
sight from month to month and year to year. The simplest 
cottage is made more attractive by such plantings and the lord- 
liest mansion is made more gracious by their use. They take 
up less ground space than any other growing things, and by blos- 
som and leaf and tendrils do their part to make the world greener, 
more artistic and less ugly all the time. 

After the beautiful Clematis paniculata has showered its clouds 
of white fragrance through all the Midsummer days we are sur- 
prised to find that September brings it fair rivals in two other 
hardy vines of heart-shaped leaves and wonderful beauty of 
flower. 



168 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Polygonum marginatum is a vine of recent introduction. Its 
leaves are silky and smooth, and the growth of the vine is very 
graceful. Both this vine and the Mexican Rose, Antigonon, 
have heart-shaped foliage that covers the long drooping tendrils 
with leaves of varied sizes, beginning with baby hearts and increas- 
ing in size until they are as large as a giant's hand. 

When the Polygonum is a cloud of white the x^ntigonon is 
covered with masses of pink coral drops. Both of these vines 
are most useful for covering trellises, making screens wherever 
needed, and are much used tor decoration. September brides 
are very fond of them. 

Pergola and porch effects of great beauty may be gained by 
planting two or more vines in combination. Always use an 
evergreen vine for background and to give the requisite evergreen 
note, thus avoiding ugliness and bareness in the Winter months. 
The wild Smilax with pink Antigonon and Clematis paniculata, 
and white Wistaria or purple with yellow Jasmine, are favorite 
combinations. White Wistaria and scarlet Trumpet Honey- 
suckle with Ivy to give depth, is often seen. The Star Jasmine 
and a Crimson Rambler Rose blooming at the same time make 
a wonderful picture ol rich loveliness. Pink Cherokee Roses 
entwined with Honeysuckle and Polygonum are exquisite. White 
Roses and Honeysuckles or Caroline Testout Roses with 
Polygonum marginatum are beautiful together, and for quick 
growth and hurry-up effects the wealth of annual vines are ours 
for the choosing. With Moonflower for fragrance, blue Morning 
Glories for joy and Cardinal Vines for brilliance — who would 
have a bare column or a sunny porch ? 




VINES FOR COTTAGE AND MANSION 



169 




CHARMING SCREENS OF WHITE WISTARIA AND CLEMATIS PANICULATA 
Boxwood, Ivy and Periwinkle in boxes make hanging gardens in all the windows of Gertrude 

Capen Whitney's home 



170 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




SOUTHERN LAWNS 171 



CHAPTER XIX 



THE MAKING AND CARE OF SOUTHERN LAWNS 

ON many of the estates in the South, which are used only as 
Winter residences, June is the regular time for making ov^er 
the lawns. Fertilizers are freely used, and after being spread 
over the surface are ploughed in. The ploughing is usually very 
deep and the sod is then disc-harrowed in order to cut it very 
fine. This done, the surface is raked as fine and smooth as it 
is possible to get it and then is left to mellow until October. Deep 
raking and smoothing at this time are followed by thick seeding 
with an evergreen lawn grass seed, and after a rolling with a heavy 
roller and a watering, the lawn is left to grow. 

In a few weeks the seed will have germinated and grown 
sufficently to allow cutting. Alternate rolling and cutting, 
weekly, from this time until December will result in a sod that 
is springy and firm to walk on, soft and velvety to touch, and 
a picture of green loveliness on which to feast the eyes. 

This procedure is most expensive, and only those with long 
purses can afford to indulge. There is no doubt but that most 
of us have to live in our homes twelve months of the year, rather 
than five, and are more interested, therefore, in the making and 
care of an all-the-year lawn, than we are in one that is beautiful 
for less than half of that time. 

In this section of the South and farther, there is but one grass 
that can be dependeti upon to give greenness throughout the 
hot, dry Summer months: that is Bermuda grass, Capriola {Cyno- 
don) dactylon. This grows anywhere, except under trees where 
there is dense shade; it may be depended on for lush, rich turf 
in fertile soils, and for strong, good sod on even the poorest soil. 



172 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

The roots spread by an underground system and go down so 
deep that for planting on banks or where the soil is apt to wash, 
nothing is better. 

The best way to plant Bermuda is to get the roots, cut them 
up fine, and drill the sprigs in furrows twelve inches apart each 
way. Then the ground should be rolled. The cuttings grow 
easily in the Spring and can be planted at any time except in 
extremely dry weather in Midsummer and in the Midwinter 
season. This planting will give an even turf that should be rolled 
regularly and cut often. This grass alone will give a beautiful, 
sott, blue-green Summer sod that will stand the hardest wear. 
When September comes the Bermuda begins to turn brown, and 
quick, hard work is necessary to keep the lawn in trim. The 
sod should be cut very closely with a good lawn mower, raked 
as smooth and clean as is possible, and over it a seeding of Winter 
grasses should be made. 

Italian Rye grass, LoUum italicum, and White Clover, Tri- 
foliiim 7~epens, used in the proportions of three to two, make a 
delightful Winter combination. The Rye grass is an annual 
and must be sown anew each Fall, but there is no grass known 
to us that makes so fresh and green a lawn. Closely cut and 
regularly rolled, it is impossible to describe its beauty. Clover 
is always lovely and does not have to be sown again each season. 
Also it grows under the trees where the Bermuda will not thrive. 

Pacey's, or English Rye grass, Lolium pei-enne, is not quite 
so desirable as the Italian for fresh beauty in the Winter months, 
but it is a perennial and will last four or five years. This is also 
about the length of time allowed by many good gardeners for the 
making over of the Bermuda lawns, so that if the Bermuda is 
used in the Spring, and the Clover and Rye in the Fall, the lawn 
should last for several years, with just enough reseeding of the 
bare spots to keep it even and neat. 

Cottonseed meal and bonemeal useci in the Spring are most 
valuable aids to strong growth and even sods. They should be 
used in preference to stable manure, unless the latter can be 
ploughed in deeply, and, even then, this must always be followed 
by a warfare against weeds that must be waged even more vigor- 



SOUTHERN LAWNS 



173 




174 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




SOUTHERN LAWNS 



175 




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THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




SOUTHERN LAWNS 177 

ously than usual, and all of us who make lawns know that this 
is an endless battle. 

Where it is not possible to secure the Bermuda roots for Sum- 
mer growth, plant the seed. Many use the Bermuda roots in 
Spring and disc-harrow in the Fall and plant the Georgia Bur 
Clover, Medicago ara^i ca, declRung that one planting of this makes 
either pasture or lawn for a lifetime. For large areas, for parks 
and much-used lawns, these two grasses are unequaled. For 
the smaller places the Rye grasses and Clover for Winter and the 
Bermuda grass for the Summer will give best results. 

Farther South, in Charleston and Savannah, and on the warm, 
sandy coastlands, St. Augustine Grass, Stenotaphrum dimiiiatum, 
is much used. This is grown from cuttings set in Summer, one 
foot apart; every joint takes root and becomes a new center. 
It makes a dense, carpet-hke growth and is almost evergreen. 
It is often planted inland but seems to need the tang of the salt 
air for best results. 

An attested mixture of evergreen lawn grass (recleaned, seed) 
that has been used this Winter with excellent results and is now 
making a strong Spring growth that bids fair to hold out through 
the Summer, is composed of the following six grasses: Kentucky 
Blue {Poa pratensis), good for the higher sections of the South; 
Red Top {Agrostis vulgaris)^ good for filling in with the Blue Grass; 
English Rye {Lolium perenne)\ Italian Rye {Lolium italicurn)\ 
Bermuda {Cap7-iola dactylon), and White Clover {Trifoliwn repens). 
This may be planted in either Fall or Spring with good results 
and if the soil is properly prepared, if the lawn is kept well rolled 
and carefully cut — not only will it be in good condition for the 
Winter but throughout all the year. 

^ My favorite lawn is that first mentioned: Bermuda Grass 
for the Summer, Italian Rye for Winter, and White Clover for 
the shady spots and for Spring and Fall. There is absolute 
necessity for close cutting at all seasons if you would have a good 
lawn. Not only must this be done but eternal warfare must be 
waged on the weeds. 

My ambition for the South is not only a garden for every 
home, but a lawn as well. 



178 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




FLOWERING TREES 179 



CHAPTER XX 



FLOWERING TREES FOR ALL SEASONS 

THE Winter-blossoming trees available for planting along the 
Gulf Coast and in the lower sections of the South are all 
beautiful and many of them are unusual. The Tea Olive, Oka 
fragrans, is usually classed as a shrub, but, if well cultivated and 
given plenty of room, soon attains the proportions of a tree. It 
is the most fragrant of all our trees and shrubs, the blossoms 
making up in sweetness what they lack in size. 

The Japanese Loquat or Medlar, Eriobotrya japonica, is 
another tree with flowers of cloying fragrance that comes into 
bloom in November and lasts almost until Christmas. This 
tree also has bright yellow fruit from February until May that 
adds much to its attractiveness. The fruit, however, does not 
mature in the sections colder than Savannah. The ever-beautiful 
Photinia serrulata, with its leaf buds of brilliant red in Midwinter, 
becomes a sight to delight both gods and men when February's 
chilling rains make life a burden and cheer much needed. It 
is then covered with corymbs of creamy-white flowers that remind 
one of the Summer-flowering Elders. With the Photinias, the 
native Wild Olive, Oka americana, blooms. The blossoms of 
this tree are individually insignificant, but when the multitudi- 
nous clusters show among the always glistening green leaves it 
is one of the most charming of the evergreen trees. Defoliation 
is necessary in transplanting this tree and as the nurserymen do 
not handle it very often it is well to remember this in digging 
specimens in the woods to transport to the lawns and gardens 
which they so worthily adorn. 



180 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Another evergreen tree that is very beautiful and hardy all 
along the Gulf Coast is Cinnamomum camphora. While it cannot 
be called a flowering tree, the dainty coloring in the young leaves 
makes it worthy of a prominent place in the plantings wherever 
it can be grown. All of the above trees are classed as broad- 
leaved evergreens and are valuable, therefore, for their Winter 
foliage as well as for their blossoms. 

The golden yellow balls of the Opoponax, Acacia Jam esiana^ 
with their delicate fragrance, bring to the gardens of the far South 
and Florida the aroma of the gardens of the Orient. With dainty 
foliage, finely cut and sensitive to the touch, and an outline of 
characteristic grace, this tree should be planted in the sub-tropical 
sections much more often than it is, for its blossoms also project 
their haunting odor on the Midwinter air. 

The early Spring-flowering trees that have small white flowers 
are the White Fringe, Chionanthus virginica, that we know in 
the woodland roamings of childhood as Grand-Daddy's Grey- 
beard; the Silver Bell and Snowdrop Trees, Mohrodendron caro- 
linum and M. dipterum^ which tell by their common names the 
nature of the blossoms; the characteristic and fragrant clusters 
of the hardy Black Locust, Robinia pseudacacia; the Hillside 
Thorn, Crataegus col/ina, the English and evergreen Hawthorns, 
Crataegus rnonogyna and Cratxgus coccinea Lalandii; the Service 
Berry and Shadbush, Amelanchier botryapium and Amelanchier 
canadensis^ known to all plant lovers; with the later blooms of 
the Yellow Wood, Virgilia lutea, and the most lovely of all, the 
Sourwood, Oxydendron arboreum, which bears clusters of flowers 
like Lilies of the Valley, all add daintiness to the landscape and 
most of them fragrance as well. 

For the broader-petaled white blooms of early Spring the most 
popular (and deservedly so) is the Dogwood in its various forms. 
Cornus florida alba is most used in the South. The Hardy Oranges, 
and the Citrange, grafted on the stock of Citrus trifoliata, are 
most attractive, and the Starry Magnolia, M. stellata, the creamy- 
white Horse Chestnut, JEsculus parviflora, and JEsculus Hip- 
pocastanum, with the Mountain Ash, Sorbus americana, for the 
colder sections, will round out the list. 



FLOWERING TREES 



181 




SYRINGA JAPONICA IN ALL ITS SPRING LOVELINESS 

This is a New York State picture, but the tree would be equally attractive in Georgia and 

would grow as well. I know, for I have tried it 



182 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




FLOWERING TREES 183 

To these trees we may add for the white blossoms the fruit 
trees, Cherry, Plum, Pear and the flowering Peach, Persica chrys- 
anthemum alba or Persica vulgaris. In Midsummer, the white 
Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica alba, is very beautiful. This 
form is not a very vigorous grower nor as hardy as the pink varie- 
ties, but it is lovely enough to be widely used. 

If anything can be more exquisite than the snowy charm of 
the white-blossomed trees of the Springtime it is when the roseate 
hues of Peach and Apricot, Crab Apple and flowering Cherries 
are seen etched in all their dainty loveliness against the soft, clear 
blue of the Spring skies and washed in the showers of an April 
noon. In order to be sure of getting what you want from the 
florists all trees should be ordered by their standard names. The 
nomenclature of the pink-flowering trees of Springtime is: 
Cornus florida rubra, pink Dogwood; Cerasus japonica, flowering 
Cherry; Cercis japonica, Judas tree; Japanese Magnolia, Mag- 
nolia Soulangeana, and the Persica chrysanthemum rosea and 
rubra, the pink- and red-flowering Peaches. 

The unequaled richness of the red Horse Chestnut, ,'Esculus 
rubicunda, and the fiery scarlet of the Maple bloom, Acer rubrum, 
and the carmine Lagerstroemia of Summer flower add deeper 
notes to the color scheme and beauty to the landscape picture. 

In striking contrast to the blossoms of pink and white and 
red are the trees with flowers of yellow tones. Of the larger 
trees the Parasol Tree {Sterculia platanifolia), Laburnum vulgaris, 
the Golden Chain Tree, and the Tulip Poplars, Liriodendron 
tulipifera, are rich and colorful. The Tulip Tree is the hardest 
to transplant but once established is much the most desirable 
and beautiful of this group. For sidewalk, parks, street and 
lawn planting no other tree is better. The deep orange found 
in the Tulip Tree flowers is repeated in the blossoms of the 
Golden Rain Tree or Varnish Tree, Kcelreuteria paniculata, which 
is a very attractive plant and free from the blights which so often 
attack the Laburnums. The creamy yellow Southern Black 
Haw, Viburnum rufidulum, and the Japanese Pagoda Tree, 
Sophora japonica, complete the yellow side of the scale. 



184 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

The feathery purplish plumes of the Smoke Tree, Rhus Cotinus, 
form a most charming contrast when planted in conjunction 
with tawny yellow flowers of the Tulip trees. For the best effects 
the Smoke Trees should be planted in masses. On the driveways 
of the farms beautiful screens can be made of these trees if planted 
with the evergreen Cassine berries and the Japanese Privets. 

The quick-growing China Berry trees, Melia Azederach and 
the umbrella form, Melia Azederach umbraculifonnis, are universal 
favorites. Unquestionably the delicate flowers of lilac and 
primrose yellow with deeper purple tips are beautiful and the 
fragrance is very penetrating; but the tree is such a glutton that 
it absorbs all the soil nourishment within many feet of it and is 
such a pig when it comes to making trash that it would be more 
deserving of its widespread use if it could be induced to change its 
bad habits. 

Stately and elegant both in blossom and foliage are the broad- 
leaved Catalpas, Catalpa bignioides and C. speciosa. The panicles 
of purple blossom with orange throats that cover these trees in 
May and June are very handsome and the pale violet clusters 
that crown the Empress Tree, Paulownia imperialism make a 
fitting garland for this queen who has come to us from across the 
Pacific. Both the Catalpas are subject to a scale that is very 
hard to eradicate and is likely to injure other plantings near it. 

The Flowering Willow, Chilopsis linearis, and Vitex Agnus- 
castus, the Chaste Tree, are the only trees with purple blooms 
that we have in the Summer months. The so-called purple 
Lagerstrcemia indica is so nearly a magenta in shade that it should 
be barred from every garden. 

The Summer-flowering trees are not numerous, but they make 
up in brilliance what they lack in number. The evergreen Privet 
trees, Ligustrum japonica and L. lucidum, begin to bloom in late 
May and continue well into June. The flowers of characteristic 
beauty and odor are followed by heavy clusters of berries which 
are green with a soft bloom in Fall and black in Winter. They 
are truly beautiful and are quick growing and desirable garden 
and lawn ornaments. They are also particularly useful for ever- 
green screenings. Even as far north as West Point, N. Y., the 



FLOWERING TREES 



185 




186 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS PRODUCE AN EFFECT THAT IS ALMOST UNBELIEV- 

ABLE-UNTIL YOU SEE IT 

This is a specimen of Magnolia Soulangeana 



FLOWERING TREES 187 

Japanese Lilac, Syringa japonica, is hardy and wonderfully 
beautiful. The broad corymbs of creamy white flowers stand 
well above the dark green of the leaves which are of large size 
and heavy texture and the fragrance of the flowers is pungent 
and strong. An avenue or drive lined with these trees in bloom 
makes a picture of exceeding loveliness. 

More strictly southern and bringing the flavor of the gardens 
of the Old South into those of the New is Magnolia grandifiora, 
that lifts unnumbered cups of old ivory tints on lacquered trays 
of shining green that the gods may sip to their fill of the nectar 
that can only be distilled for them among the fragrant blossoms 
of southern gardens in Midsummer. As dainty as the ladies of 
those olden days, whose gardens they adorned, is the exquisite 
Mimosa, Acacia Jiilibrissin, with its pink-tipped, thistle-like 
blooms of pearl color. Every southern garden large enough to 
contain them should have both of these trees, purely for senti- 
ment's sake, even if not for their own beauty. The Magnolias, 
Mimosas, and Crape Myrtles are companions in the romantic 
history of the South and no trio of tree planting could be more 
beautiful. The delicate rose-pink and the deeper rose madder 
of the Crape Myrtles make them objects of striking interest and 
beauty for many months each year. As hedges they are most 
eff"ective. A vine-covered pergola with snowy columns limned 
against the masses of a group of pink Crape Myrtles forms a 
most artistic picture. 

Distinction in the planting of flowering trees can be secured 
only by planting them in masses, and where the place is small it 
is far better to confine oneself to one variety exclusively than to 
attempt to mingle the groupings. Who has not heard of the 
beautiful avenues of Cherry blossoms that make the roadways 
of Japan the Mecca of tourists from all parts of the world ? In 
North Georgia there is a turnpike which is bordered by Apple 
trees for a distance of forty 'miles. Some day, when the motorists 
discover its fairy-like beauty in the early Spring, it will also become 
a famous trysting place for the beauty-lovers of the world. High 
up among the old red hills its beauty and charm are worth while 
from early Spring until late Fall. One home in mid-Georgia is 



188 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



.i^,^L^»i^^l^^6t>ry' 



r 




Eriobotrya japonicaj the Japanese Medlar or Loquat, as found at Brooksville, Fla. 
Foliage, blossoms and fruit all find favor 



FLOWERING TRP:ES 189 

known far and wide for the white and pink Crape Myrtles, which 
fill the air with fragrance and delight the eye with beauty, all 
through the long, hot Summer months. Another home is the 
delight of all the passing throng in the early Spring, on account 
of the wonderful vistas framed by its blossoming Dogwood trees, 
both the white and the pink varieties. I might cite instance 
after instance of places made beautiful and become famous by 
massed plantings, but these are mentioned in passing, as it were, 
to stress the suggestion that if you can only have a few shrubs or 
trees you should plant those you select in worthy numbers, revel 
in their beauty each recurring season and live on the memories 
of them for the rest of the year. 




190 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




;S;.;-.,V.-^^-^#"%ft^T 



f-vV^«' 



^^■' - iv:. 






€■ 



<i>^-. 









THE HISTORIC CORNWALLIS OAK 
At Guilford, N. C, says tradition, on March 15, 1751, Lord Cornwallis, in command of the 
British troops, tied his horse to an Oak sapling. The horse ate the main leader and the tree 
developed this magnificent spreading head. Who would not treasure such an heirloom in 

his or her garden? 



CONCLUSION 191 



CHAPTER XXI 



CONCLUSION— DEVOUTLY HOPED FOR 

THE small householder is apt to think that the cost of perma- 
nent shrubbery is so great as to be prohibitive to the man 
of small means. This is not true. The average price of the 
small deciduous and evergreen shrubs is from twenty-five to 
seventy-five cents and many of the former can be bought for as 
little as ten cents each. Many of our most beautiful garden 
children can be found in the wild woods for the digging and can 
be safely transplanted, if proper attention is given to pruning 
and planting at the time of moving. But, when these plants 
must be bought from the nurserymen (and this is the easiest and 
usually most satisfactory way of handling them) it must be remem- 
bered that the primary cost is the only one to be considered, so 
they are really much cheaper in the end than the flowers that 
grow from seed and must be planted anew each year. 

The ultimate care of a shrubbery border is negligible as com- 
pared to the borders of annual flowers, which to the average man 
or woman is the meaning conveyed when one speaks of making 
a garden. Reliable garden help is very hard to secure, and this 
is another argument in favor of the garden that is planted with 
evergreen and deciduous shrubs, that is a joy to the maker of it 
from its inception, repays every moment of care expended on it, 
and grows in interest and charm from season to season. No 
garden was ever made in a day and the starting of it right, with 
dependable plantings, and with a clear idea of the aim to be 
reached, will mean untold pleasure in the future. 



192 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 

Making a garden in the South is different from making 
one in any other section only in the fact that every month can be 
and should be a garden working month and every season should 
have its share of bloom and beauty and sweetness. Midwinter 
blossoms are no rarer than Midsummer ones and garden work 
is much easier done in January than in August. The cold invig- 
orates one to energetic efforts without destroying the result of 
the labor of one's hands and heart and brain. The heat, on the 
other hand, enervates and often parches the plantings and not 
much gardening can be done in the hot Summer months. Because 
this is true, the Winter months give to the women and men 
of the Southern States the opportunity they need to make beauti- 
ful their homes. Think what it would mean to the physical 
value of the farms of these sections if every farmer would make 
of his dooryard a lawn, would plant screens of flowering trees to 
hide the service quarters of his farm, would plant the foundation 
lines of his home with shrubs and would shield the porches from 
the Summer sun by means of ornamental vines! 

With the prodigal wealth of our flora, with the ease of growth, 
why is it that the people of the South have not taken advantage 
of their opportunities and made this section the most wonder- 
fully beautiful of the world ? It is simply because they have 
not seen the vision of concerted action, of definite planting plans, 
of working for beauty on the farms as well as for utility. This 
has been true of the past. It will not be true of the future. Our 
boys have seen the gardens of old England and France, they have 
come home with inspiration and the will to translate that ideal 
into action. This means the inception of a new era and the 
development of the home grounds of the South in a way that has 
not been considered possible heretofore. The slogan, "Every 
home in a garden" will become a truism before many years have 
passed. 

When I began my garden the plantings were good enough, 
but were so scattered, so hidden by fences and buildings, that 
there was needed the eye of faith, the heart of patience, and the 
prayer of courage to undertake to transform the higgledy-piggledy 
city lot into a place of beauty and fragrance; a garden worthy 



CONCLUSION 



193 




t; O. 



194 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 




CONCLUSION 195 

of the name, but that is what it is today. My ideal has been 
to make a picture of greenness and brilliance that will be seen 
from every window in the house on every day in the year. This 
I have done. It is a hard task, and I have just begun to realize 
my ideals of smooth, close-shaven lawns bordered by blossoms 
against a background of shrubs, which are sometimes brilliantly 
flower-starred and the rest of the time rich and green. There 
is much, much, yet to do, but it has been so well worth while in 
every possible way that I am glad to pass the story of my efforts 
on, hoping that some other busy woman or man with no more 
time nor money than I have had will take heart of grace and go 
forth and do likewise. 

The worst part of a working woman's garden is her limita- 
tion of time and money. There are so many things one would 
like to do that just cannot be done on account of lack of funds, 
and the going must be so discouragingly slow. After a time, 
one realizes that to "make haste slowly" is a good motto for the 
garden maker. The best part of the worker's garden is that, 
because each week means a sacrifice for the garden work and 
plantings, everything that gives beauty or fragrance is doubly 
a joy. 

The men and women who make gardens will find them safety 
valves for the spirit when things go wrong. They will not tire 
of garden making, for the fascinating part of it is that it is never 
finished. They must plant in faith, water with hope, take counsel 
of patience; then, if they are long-suffering and kind, they will 
reap an abundant harvest of joy and peace and happiness as well 
as of Pansies, and Roses, and Lilies, and Poppies, and blossoms 
of every hue. 



The End. 



196 THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



INDEX OF OWNERS OR SITES OF 
GARDENS ILLUSTRATED 



Page 

Augusta (Ga.) Women's Clubs 161 

Henry Barnett, Sumter, S. C 121 

Mr. Beagle, Chico, Cal 136 

Frank E. Beane, Augusta, Ga 15 

Peter Bisset, Washington, D. C 82 

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Ga 32 

Mrs. A. H. Brenner, Augusta, Ga (top) 41 

A. L. Brooks, Irving Park, Goldsboro, N. C 194 

Mrs. F. N. Brunson, Sumter, S. C 107 

Carter Burdell, "Winterholme," Augusta, Ga 66, 84, 87 

Judge E. H. Calloway, Augusta, Ga 76 

Bryan Gumming, Augusta, Ga 16 

Mrs. Hiram Price Dillon, Topeka, Neb 148 

Mrs. Julia Lester Dillon, "Lesterholme," Augusta, Ga. 30, 68, 100, 110, 127 

Eben W. Doughty, Augusta, Ga 124 

Lawton B. Evans, Augusta, Ga 77, 104 

Fisher Park, Greensboro, N. C 88, 166 

Georgia Railroad Station, Augusta, Ga 129 

C. W. Gold, Goldsboro, N. C 112 

Francis A. Hardy, Augusta, Ga 

Cover, frontispiece, 46, 49, 78, 92, 143, 158, 173, 175 

H. C. Haynesworth, Sumter, S. C 42, 43, 44 (bottom), 45 

Mrs. John W. Herbert, "Palmetto Lodge," North Augusta, S. C.29, 83, 164 

Highland Park, Rochester, N. Y 181 

Gardiner G. Hubbard, "Twin Oaks," Washington, D. C 67, 69, 77 

C. C. Hudson, Greensboro, N. C 25 

Miss M. Hughson, Sumter, S. C 135 

Irving Park, Greensboro, N. C 38, 193 

Dr. C. J. Lemmon, Sumter, S. C 115 

Mrs. J. H. Levy, Augusta, Ga 60, 160 

Paul C. Lindley, Greensboro, N. C 22, 116, 132, 178 

C. T. Mason, Sumter, S. C 35 

Memorial Park, Sumter, S. C 98, 176 

H. H. Morris, Augusta, Ga (bottom) 41 

R. C. Neely, Jr., Augusta, Ga (top) 44 

H. Nehrling, Gotha, Fla. 54 

James Parmalee, Painesville, 170 

Royal Palm Hotel, Miami, Fla 31 

Coles Phinizy, Augusta, Ga 104 

E. Sternberger, Greensboro, N. C 37, 56 

Mrs. I. C. Strauss, Sumter, S. C 91 

Miss Marie Sumerau, Augusta, Ga 185 

Gertrude Capen Whitney, Augusta, Ga 169 

Dr. Walter Van Fleet, Bell Station, Md 50 

Boykin Wright, "Coniston," Augusta, Ga 56, 162, 165, 174 

{Illustrations on pages 146 and 149, courtesy of W. Atlee Burpee Co.) 



INDEX 



197 



INDEX 

(Figures in italics indicate illustrations.) 



A Page 

Abelia grandiflora 25, 27, 117 

Acacia Farnesiana, 180; Julibris- 

sin 187 

Acer plantanoides, 38; rubrum.. . . 183 
^sculus Hippocastanum,180; par- 

viflora, 180; rubicunda 183 

African Marigolds 118, 122 

Ageratum 85, 111, 118, 122 

Agrostis vulgaris 177 

Althaea, 155; frutex 117 

Alyssum saxatile 118, 122 

Amelanchier Botryapium, 180; 

canadensis 180 

Ampelopsis arborea, 163; quin- 

quefolia, 162, 163; Veitchii. ^. .163 

Antigonon leptopus 159, 166 

Antirrhinum. 85, 86, 122 

Apple, Flowering Crab 183 

Aphids 69,126 

Aquilegia 122, 133, 134, 138 

Arabis alpina 122, 133 

Arborvitse... 79 

Artemisia lactifolia 116, 132 

Arsenate of lead 126 

Assam Tea Plant 23 

Asters 106, 111, 113, 118, 122 

Augusta gardens 48 

Autumn sowing 147 

Azalea ama-na, 47; arborescens, 

51; calendulacea, 51, 52; Hi- 

nodigiri, 48; Kaempferi, 50; 

lutea, 51; mollis, 48; Vaseyi,.. 51 
Azaleas, 47, 49; deciduous 51, 52 

B 

Baby's Breath 39 

Bamboo, 12 Jy, Heavenly 26,21 

Banana Tree 123 

Bear Grass 30 

Berberis japonica, 33; Thunber- 

gii 36, 38 

Bermuda Grass. . . . 171, 172, 174, 177 
Bignonia crucigera 164 



Page 
Biota aurea conspicua, 65; B. a. 

nana, 56, 62; B. a. pyramidalis. 65 

Bordeaux mixture 125 

Boxwood, dwarf, 43, 44, 76, 169; 

tall, 2^,39,84 

Bridal Wreath 152 

Broad-leaved evergreens 19 

Bur Clover, Georgia 177 

Burning Bush 152 

Buxus sempervirens, 28, 39, 40; 

B. s. sufTruticosa 43 



C 

Cactus 16, 119 

Calico Bush 27,28 

Camellias 47,53,54 

Campanula carpatica, 138; pyra- 
midalis 138 

Camphor Tree 180 

Candytuft 76, 118 

Canna, 89, 106, 113, 115, 123, 135, 136 

Canterbury Bells 138 

Capriola dactylon 171, 174, 177 

Cardinal Vine.. . 167, 168 

Catalpa bignonoides, 184; spe- 

ciosa 184 

Cassine Berry 184 

Cedrus Deodara 57, 60 

Centaurea 122 

Cerasus caroliniana, 20, 35; japon- 
ica 183 

Cercis japonica 183 

Chama'cyparis pisifera plumosa,6S, 64 

Charleston 13 

Chaste Tree 184 

Chattahoochee 17 

Cherry Trees, Carolina, 20; Flow- 
ering 183 

Chimney Bell Flower 138 

China Berry Tree 184 

Chionanthus virginica 180 

Chrysanthemum 102, 105, 118, 

122, 142 



198 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



Page 

Cinnamomum Caniphora 180 

Citrange 180 

Citrus trifoliata 40, 180 

Clematis paniculata 167 

Clover, Bur, 177; White 177 

Columbine 122, 133, 134, 138 

Concord 13 

Conifers 4,56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 64 

Coral Vine 159 

Coreopsis lanceolata 140 

Cornflower 118 

Cornwallis Oak, The 190 

Cornus florida alba, 180, 182; 

C. f. rubra 183 

Cosmos 105 

Crape Myrtle. 183, 187, 189 

Crataegus coccinea, 180; coUina, 
180; monogyna, 180; pyracan- 
tha Lalandii (see Pyracantha). 

Crocus 109 

Cross Vine 164 

Cumberland 17 

Cupressus Benthamii, 58; C. B. 
Knightiana, 58; C. funebris, 
61 ; C. sempervirens, 61 ; pyra- 

midalis royalii 56, 60, 61 

Cydonia HO, 152 

Cypress Trees.///, 56, 58, 59, 60, 129 
Cypress Vine 167 



D 

Daffodils 90, 109, 118, 122 

Dahlia 105 

Daisies, 108, 123, 185; African.. . . 91 

Darwin Tulips 4 

Delphinium 14, 85, 122, 138 

Deutzia, 110, 154; crenata, 152; 

gracilis 152 

Dianthus plumarius 133 

Diervilla florida 152 

Digitalis gloxiniaflora 138 

Dogwood, pink, 183; white 182 

Dolichos 167 



E 

Elaeagnus 23 

Elder, American 155 

Empress Tree 184 

English Rye Grass 177 

Eriobotrya japonica 23, 179, 188 

Euonymus radicans 159, 170 



Page 

Euphorbia 31 

Evergreens, Broad-leaved 19 

Exochorda grandiflora 29, 152 

F 

Ficus repens 159 

Fig, Trailing, 159; Tree 109 

Florida 14 

Flowering Cherry, 183; Peach, 183; 

Plum, 183; trees, 138, Willow. .184 

Flowers of sulphur 125 

Forsythia, 110; Fortunei, 152; 

suspensa, 152, 158; viridissima.152 

Foxglove 138 

Fragrance 34 

Fringe Tree ISO 



G 

Gaillardia 89, 133, 136 

Gardenia jasminoides florida, 29, 

117; G. j. Fortunei 29, 117 

Gelsemium sempervirens 163 

Georgia 14 

Gladiolus 123 

Golden Bell, 152, 158; Chain Tree, 

183, Glow, 105, 118; Rain Tree. 183 

Grass seed 171 

(ireenbrier 160 

Gynerium 16 

Gypsophila paniculata 39 



H 

Haw, Black 183 

Hawthorn 19,20,26, 180 

Heavenly Bamboo 26 

Hedera algeriensis, 159; Helix. 79, 159 

Hedge plants 35 

Helianthus.. 85,111,118,122 

Hibiscus syriacus 155 

Hillside Thorn 180 

Holly ^^,23,24 

Hollyhocks Ill, 133 

Honeysuckle 152 

Hop Vine 167 

Horse Chestnut Tree 180, 183 

Hudson 13, 17 

Humulus japonicus 167 

Hyacinth, 84, 85, 90, 109, 1 18, 122; 
Hyacinth Bean 167 



INDEX 



199 



Page 

Hydrangea, 110, 111, 112, 113; 

arborescens, 155; monstrosa, 

155; Otaksa, 155; paniculata 

grandiflora. 111, 113, 117, 155; 

quercifolia 117 

Hypericum Moserianum 117 

I 

Iberis sempervirens 76, 122 

Ilex aquifolium, 24; cassine, 20, 

24; cornuta, 24; crenata, 22, 

24; glabra, 20, 24; opaca 20, 24 

Inkberry 24 

Insecticides 126, 128,131 

IpomcEa 167 

Iris, 57, 118, 121, 122; germanica, 

145, 158; hispanica, 145; 

Kaempferi 145, 158 

Italian Rye Grass 144, 172, 177 

Ivy, Algerian, 106; Boston, 163, 

166; English 46, 143, 159, 164 



J 
Jasmine, Malayan, 163; Star, 163, 

165; Yellow.. 163 

Jasminum nudiflorum, 88, 152, 

153, 158; revolutum 155 

Jonquils .....109,118, 122 

Juniperus communis, 43, 64; vir- 

giniana 4^, 58, 64 



K 

Kalmia latifolia 27, ^S 

Kentucky Blue Grass 176, 177 

Kerosene emulsion 128 

Kerria japonica 152 

Koelreuteria paniculata 183 

Kudzu Vine 167 



L 

Laburnum vulgare 183 

Lagerstroemia 117, 129, 183, 184 

Larkspur 107, 118, 122 

Laurel, English, 28, 29, 115; 

Mountain 27,^5 

Laurocerasus 20, 21, 28 

Laurus nobilis 28 

Laurustinus 24 

Lavender 117 

Lavandula vera 117 

Lawns 144, 171, 175, 176, 178 



Page 
Ligustrum amurense, 27, 35, 36, 

41, 43, 45, 79; chinensis, 33; 

japonicum, 20, 33, 37, 184; 

lucidum, 20, 33, 184; nepalense, 

33; ovalifolium, 36; Quihoui. . . 33 

Lilac 152,187 

Lime-sulphur 126 

Liriodendron tulipifera 183 

Locust, Black 180 

Lolium italicum, 172, 173, 177; 

perenne 172, 177 

Lonicera chinensis, 164; fragran- 

tissima, 152; sempervirens 164 

Loquat 20, 23, 179, 188 



M 

Magnolia fuscata, 20; gloriosa, 
20; grandiflora, 20, 187; Sou- 

langeana, 183, 186; stellata 180 

Mahonia japonica 21 

Maples, Norway 38 

Marvel of Peru 85 

Massachusetts 18 

Medicago arabis 177 

Medlar 20,23, 11^,188 

Melia Azederach, 184; M. A. um- 

braculiformis 131, 184 

Mildew 125 

Mimosa 188 

Mohrodendron carolinianum, 180; 

dipterum 180 

Moonflower 168 

Morning Glories 85 

Mountain Ash, 180; Laurel,.. . .27, 28 
Myrtle, Crape, 123; Trailing 79 



N 

Nandina domestica 26, 27 

Narcissus 85, 109, 118, 122 

Nasturtium 85, 111, 167 

Nerium 20,m,121 

New Orleans 13 



O 

Oak, Cornwallis, 190; Live 32 

Olea americana, 20; fragrans. .23, 179 

Oleander 29, 30, 113, 123, 121 

Oleaster 23 

Olive, Tea, 23, 85; Wild 20,35 

Opoponax 180 

Opuntia 16,119 



200 



THE BLOSSOM CIRCLE OF THE YEAR 



Page 

Oxydendron, arboreuni 180 

Oyster-shell scale 128 

P 

Pagoda Tree 183 

Pansies 81,110,118,122 

Parasol Tree 183 

Paulownia imperialis 184 

Peach, Flowering 87, 183 

Pear, Flowering 183 

Pearl Bush 27,152 

Persica chrysanthemum, 183; 

vulgaris 183 

Peony 139 

Periwinkle 79,169 

Perennials 137 

Pests 123 

Petunias 86, 107, 111, 118, 122 

Philadelphus, 110; coronarius 152 

Phlox, 86, 105, 106, 110, 113, 118, 
122, 123, 134; paniculata. .133, 134 

Photinia serrulata 179 

Physostegia virginiana 89 

Pinks 133 

Pinus densiflora, 62; excelsa, 56, 

62; koraiensis 62 

Pittosporum Tobira 29 

Plant lice 69,126,131 

Platycodon grandiflora 138 

Poa pratensis 176, 177 

Polygonum marginatum 168 

Pomegranates 113, 155 

Poplars 1^9 

Poppies, 110; Iceland, 133; Shir- 
ley 9Q,98 

Potassium sulphide 126 

Pride of India Tree 131 

Privet.. . .27,33,35,36,37,41,45, 

4-5, 79, 184 

Pruning 109 

Prunus caroliniana 40 

Punica 110, 155 

Pyracantha coccinea Lalandii, 19, 

20,26 
Pyrus floribunda 152 

Q 

Quercus 32 

Quince, Japanese 112, 152 

R 

Ramblers, Baby 129 

Red Top 177 



Page 
Retinospora plumosa, 69, 65; 

squarrosa Veitchii 65 

Rhamnus catharticus 40 

Rhododendron 33 

Rhodotypos 152 

Rhus aromatica, 155; Cotinus, 

155, 184; michauxi 155 

Robinia pseudacacia 180 

Rosa de Montana 159 

Rosa IfEvigata, 82; rugosa 73 

Rose garden. Making a, 75; view 

of 71,78 

Rose of Sharon 155 

Roses, Baby Rambler, 129; Cher- 
okee, 66, 82, 83; Climbing, 66, 
68, 125, 160; old-fashioned, 67; 
Polyantha, 77; hybrid.. . . 67, 69, 72 

Rudbeckia '..... 105, 118, 122 

Rust ....125 

Rye Grass, English, 177; Italian. 144, 
172, 177 

S 

Salvia. .85, 86, 106, 111, 113, 118, 122 

Sambucus canadensis 155 

Savannah 17 

Scale, Oyster-shell 128 

Service Tree 180 

Shasta Daisy 185 

Shrubs, deciduous, 151; ever- 
green 19, 35 

Silver Bell Tree 180 

Smilax, Bonanox, 160; Wild 160 

Smoke Tree 155, 184 

Snowball 152,157 

Snowdrop, 85, 109, 118; tree 180 

Snow Garland 39 

Sophora japonica 183 

Sorbus americana 180 

Sourwood Tree 180 

South Carolina 18 

Spanish Bayonet 16, 30, 103 

Spiraa, 110, 155; Reevesiana, 152; 
Thunbergii, 27, 37, 39, 129; 

Vanhouttei 152 

Sprays. . . . 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131 

Sterculia platanifolia 183 

Sweet Peas. ... 110, 1^6, 147, U9, 150 

Sweet William Ill, 133 

St. John's Wort 117 

St. Augustine's Grass 177 

Stenotaphrum dimitiatum 177 



INDEX 



201 



Page 

Sumac 1^^ 

Syringa, 110, 152; japonica, 181, 
187; vulgaris 152 

T 

Tamarix plumosa 128 

Tea Olive 23,85,179 

Tea Plant, Assam 23 

Tecoma radicans 167 

Texas 14 

Thea Bohea 23 

Thorn, Hillside 180 

Thuya • • 65 

Trifolium repens 172, 176, 177 

Trumpet Flower, 164; Vine 167 

Tulip Tree 183 

Tulips 90,109 

U 
Umbrella Tree 185 

V 

Varnish Tree 183 

Verbena 85,86,111 

Veronica 89, 122 

Viburnum plicatum, 152; rufidu- 
lum, lS3;Tinus 24 



Page 

Vinca major, 79; minor 115 

Vines 159 

Viola cornuta 81, 121, 122 

Violets 85,90,101,118 

Virgilia lutea 180 

Virginia 14, 18 

Virginia creeper 162, 163 

Vitex Angus-cast us 184 

W 

Weigela 152 

Whale oil soap 126 

White Clover 172, 176, 177 

White Fringe Tree 180 

Wild Olive 20,35 

Willow, Flowering 184 

Wistaria chinensis 163 

Y 

Yellow Wood 180 

Yucca aloifolia, 16, 30; filamen- 
tosa, 30, 103; Treculeana 30 



Zinnia 86,106,111,113,118,122 



cA Suggestion 



ONE of tlae joys of garcleuiiii; is that it i.s never flnished, never with- 
out new interests and possibilities that come to light not only in 
our own gardens but also in those that we may chance to visit. To fully 
realize these possibilities, however, we must take note of them, remem- 
ber them, compare, contemplate and develop them. 

The following pages are left blank so that you can make such gar- 
den notes and memoranda, with which to render your future work and 
study more enjoyable, more successful and more profitable — for your- 
self and for your garden brethren, also. If their use should lead you 
into the habit of keeping a garden diary such as that mentioned in 
Chapter IX, so much the better. 

garden TSlotes and SVlemoranda 



garden "l^lotes and (SMemoranda 



Garden Notes and Memoranda 



Garden Notes and Memoranda 



garden TSlotes and (Memoranda 



(garden TSlotes and (^Memoranda 



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